Battle Royale : Dual Fate
by Percival Jones
Summary: On an academic  since i'm doing my thesis  and inspirational hiatus.
1. Pilot

AN: Hello Readers! Welcome to the beautiful and magnificent world of Battle Royale. Filled with gore, death, bloodlust and so much more! But I don't want to be the stereotypical Battle Royale writer that just focuses on the weaponry and bloody deaths. I want to show the social aspects of Battle Royale: Friendship, Rivalry, Revenge, Jealousy, Love, Hope, Inspiration and even Desperation. I want to bring back the plot behind the murder, the human nature that revolves in the minds of teenagers forced into this nightmare. And with that let the Program begin!

Caution: This chapter may be slightly boring since it introduces all of the students in the class and their relationships with each other as well as some defining descriptions and characteristics.

Disclaimer: Koushun Takami owns all rights to Battle Royale. Only the characters here are of my ownership. The movie sucks by the way, read the book!

* * *

><p>Chapter 1: Pilot<p>

**Jake Anderson's POV (Boy #1)**

Two hours had passed since we left Northridge High for our annual school field trip and the bus still had a lot of life in it. Beside me, lounging on the back of the bus, was head cheerleader Tiffany Evans (Girl #6), my on again off again girlfriend. We've been dating for almost a year now and everyone expected it to happen like the age old cliché. She was beautiful, I was in all means hot (and the captain of the basketball team), and we were on the top of the social food chain so we were bound to hook up. We were the white picket fence couple of the school and easily won the Prom Prince and Princess Title in the Junior Prom (technically due to lack of reasonable competition). But our relationship was rocky at best. We have arguments almost every week about some of the most stupid things like picking her up late for a date or not dedicating a game winning shot to her.

She was talking animatedly with her girl friends Ashley Saunders (Girl #15), Milan Avery (Girl #2) and Vanessa Cohen (Girl #4). They were the popular girls in our class and each one had a contribution to their fame. Ashley's a cheerleader, just like Tiff, who is very well known for her venomous tongue and mean girl attitude. Milan brought the dough to the group being the richest girl in the school. I actually wonder why she's still enrolled in a public school. Lastly, Vanessa was the definition of beauty in all aspects.

They were having one of their girl talks that included manicures, the latest trends in fashion, Vampire Diaries and of course, the current school gossip. They were talking so loud, that I couldn't help but overhear things like some guy Klaus killing Bonnie or something like that. I felt Tiff's arms wrap around mine and she leaned on my shoulder a bit and snuggled. She's been sweet like this since we won the championship game in basketball against Elder High a couple of weeks ago. Sometimes I really wonder if our whole relationship is just an act on her part to make herself more popular than she already was.

I looked to my right and saw my teammate, Greg Lanter (Boy # 12) staring at me, no wait, more like _glaring_ at me. He averted his gaze when I noticed it but he still looked annoyed about something. I don't know what his problem is but he's been kinda pissed for some time now whenever we're together. Maybe it's because I won the MVP award even though he scored more points than I did in the game. I'll just ask him about it later once we reach the camp grounds. Our other team mate in the class, David Arias (Boy #2) was staring blankly at the window while listening to his iPod. He's probably blocking out the sound of the girls in the front of the bus hogging the karaoke machine.

Celina Trevino (Girl # 17) was definitely tone deaf but she kept on screaming "Baby, Baby, Baby Oh!" as she sang along to her crush and idol, Justin Bieber. She's been basically _shoving_ her Bieber Fever onto the whole population of Northridge ever since she got to meet the guy in a concert. I still don't understand how that guy became so popular, but I never _did_ try to understand Hollywood and all that crap. Celina bowed while kneeling on her chair as her friends Isabelle Burton (Girl #3) and Sarah Howell (Girl # 10) clapped even though they didn't enjoy the performance. Those three girls were a tight bunch as they knew each other before high school. Cara Howell (Girl #9), Sarah's twin, was technically part of the group as well but she never shared their enthusiasm on anything. She was probably sleeping or playing with her secondhand PSP trying to drown herself out of the real world. For twins, Sarah and Cara didn't have much in common except for physical features.

Before Celina could sing another Bieber song, another girl carefully walked up front and took the microphone away from her. Thea Schultz (Girl # 16) is the triple thespian of the class. She can dance, she can act and she's definitely the best singer in all of Northridge, unlike Celina. Thea was very active in the performing arts department; landing every lead in the school musicals and being the main soloist of the school's glee club. She was gifted in looks as well and can turn heads when walking down the hallway, but her Achilles' heel was her diva attitude and her ego as big as her vocal range. She began singing some Broadway ballad that no one but herself knows about…

Okay, make that herself and Francis Jackson (Boy #9), the other glee club person in our class who was now singing along with her. He's also the class VP and a fairly decent student. The only thing peculiar about him is that he's the son of an interracial couple and he was _very_ effeminate (_Cara's_ probably manlier than him). He was seated next to his best friend, Percival Hale (Boy #8), who was laughing as Francis failed to reach the high notes of the song Thea was singing. I actually wonder how they became best friends since Percy is an athlete. If he tried to try out for the basketball team, I'm pretty sure he'd get in easily but he's dedicated his entire time captaining both the swim team and the water polo team.

In the chair next to them sat my neighbor, Damien Knight (Boy # 10), who is commonly known as _the_ class genius. Almost as tall as me and blond as well, he really bent the dumb blond stereotype. He also dresses nice and even wears contact lenses instead of glasses making him not nerdy at all. He was seated with Adam Gruesen (Boy #6) and the exchange student from the Philippines, Aileen Alcantara (Girl #1). Adam's the real geek between him and Damien, with his wire-rimmed glasses and his expansive amount of sweater vests. He's also the Class President so he was in charge of accommodating Aileen throughout the school year. After the field trip, Aileen will finally head back to her country since the school year is almost over.

Adam suddenly stood up from his chair and glared and somewhat scolded the people behind him. I looked closely at the seat behind Adam's and saw that it was occupied by none other than Camille Richmond (Girl #13) and Logan Steele (Boy #16). They are the longest lasting couple our batch has, sporting an almost three years of dating and romance. If they decided to run against us for Prom Prince and Princess then we might have had some serious competition. They were just laughing at Adam's attempt to berate them, making him red with frustration. The couple was probably making out again and emitting sounds that made anyone hearing them uncomfortable, though I just find it amusing. Adam is just a bit of a stickler when it comes to the rules, even the lousiest ones like littering.

If I was Adam though, I should probably be more worried about the 3Ks: Kiefer Blanchard (Boy #3), Kenneth Cheng (Boy #4) and Kristian White (Boy #18). Those three get into trouble a lot because of their pranks and silly antics. Kiefer is the real mischief maker in the bunch; even getting suspended once for pranking the principal on a school assembly. Kenneth's the school mascot, with his height and body structure fitting well with the Polar Bear costume. He's an all out funny guy that can make anyone laugh with his jokes and crazy dance moves. Lastly, Kris was the group's techie. He's always updated with the latest gadgets which he uses for their more complicated pranks. He once hacked into the school's teleprompter to change the principal's speech during the freshman welcoming assembly. Everyone was laughing loudly when Mr. Shields announced in front of the freshmen and their parents that he was a pedophile that loved to tie up his students. The trio was quiet the whole bus trip, which worries me, because that could only mean _one_ thing: they were planning a big prank once we reach our destination.

When it comes to _real _trouble, our class has its own representatives: Vincent Thorne (Boy #17) and his cronies Ervin Gunner (Boy #7) and Mitchell Lane (Boy #11). Vincent and his crew were the real bullies in our school. They didn't settle for the lunch money taking nor the slushy facials and the toilet swirlies. They really harassed and beat up people that got in their way like Allan Rowe (Boy #14) who once spilled his plate full of mystery meat on Vincent. Allan got his ass kicked that day and showed up with a swollen eye the next. They even pick on Enrique Sanchez (Boy #15) who had some weird condition that made him do these bizarre actions. Greg actually picks on him sometimes but never on the same level as Vincent's crew.

Aside from the bullying, Ervin and Mitchell have their own respective reputations. Ervin was a woman hater and he was pretty vocal about it. He refused to work with girls on any project and he barely listens to any of our female instructors. Mitchell was quite an opposite; he loves girls to the point that it's disgusting for us. He was a horndog that harassed almost every girl in the class. His personal favorite was Rachelle Dawson (Girl #5), who rarely stood up for herself. She could have _easily_ reported Mitchell for sexual harassment so he could be expelled and sent to juvie. Too bad Rachelle was such a goody two shoes that she doesn't want others hurt because of her actions. In short, she was a masochist.

"Yowww, what was that for?" a guy yelled out loud. Most of us looked at the source of the screech, Cody Miller (Boy #13). He was apparently _painfully_ jabbed in the arm by his seat mate Janine Williams (Girl #18).

"Because you're an idiot!" Janine teased. They usually bicker a lot about the stupidest of things but every argument had the same result. Cody will always ends up whining like a dork as Janine triumphs over her daily victory. Usually, Chloe Fitzhugh (Girl #7) would stop them from their silly, childish fights to prevent them from killing each other, but this time, she was just heavily laughing at Cody while giving Janine a high five.

Some of us chuckled along with them but there were others who remained passive and without a care. Like Cynthia Morgan (Girl #12), the Goth girl in class, with her black clothes and heavy amounts of make-up. Her black hair has _outrageous_ streaks of pink and purple making her really stand out in the class. I knew her before high school and I can attest that she wasn't always like that. I have no idea though, why she suddenly had this weird transformation. There was also Lily Long (Girl #11), the shortest girl in class, who always preferred to be a wallflower. She's a year younger than most of us because she got accelerated. Beside her was Francesca Rivera (Girl # 14), another quiet girl like Lily who could usually be seen in the library or the music room. Both of them more or less _hung out_ but they never talked to one another. They were comfortable with spending their entire high school life in complete silence and with zero social life. Then there was Justin Cowan (Boy # 5), the only guy in class who doesn't have a group or even a decent person he could remotely call a friend. The only people I've ever seen that talked to him were Chloe and Celina. And Celina's conversation technically didn't count because she was interviewing Justin on how lucky he was to be named Justin, like Justin Bieber… I couldn't see him from where I was seated so he was probably slouched in his seat, catching Zs.

A loud ringing suddenly sprang inside the bus and it came from (Girl #8) Lauren Garcia's cell phone. She's probably the biggest oddball in class. For one thing she's like twenty plus or something and second, she's already a mom but she's not married. A story Tiff told me before was that Lauren became pregnant when she was in our year level in high school some years ago. She dropped out to get a job and take care of her child since the father ran away from his responsibilities. She's apparently trying to finish high school this time around to get a better job to take care of her child. She was talking rapidly in Spanish to the person on the phone and when she was done, the noise of the bus roared back to life as people chatted, gossiped, snored and sang…

* * *

><p><em>Around 7 in the evening…<em>

It was awfully quiet when I woke up from a nice nap. Celina and Thea have stopped using the karaoke machine. David was leaning on the window snoring, his iPod still playing. No one was talking anymore, not the girls beside me, nor Cody and Janine's usual squabbles. Miss fashionista Vanessa was snoring like a truck driver and I was highly tempted to record it with my phone but I slowly started getting dizzy. My eyelids were getting heavy and though I just woke up from a nap, I felt like I needed another one. I closed my eyes and immediately joined my classmates in the sweet slumber…

* * *

><p>AN: Well there you have it folks! You've met the cast of my Battle Royale! I'll try to update at least twice a week or something unlike my previous discontinued fanfic. I already have a plan for the next 12 chapters of this story but it could change if some of your reviews inspire me! So please review my beloved readers. Even a smiley will brighten up my day.<p>

Oh and yes, I'm part of this 36 students but I'm not Percival Hale. Try guessing in your reviews XD

Also I'll start leaving a question at the end of the chapter for some feedback form you guys. So here is the question.

Which of this 36 people is your bet as the winner of this Battle Royale? And who do you think will be the first few ones to die?

And with that, Percival Jones is out. Peace!


	2. Twisted Reality

AN: So here is the update that I have promised! My summer classes are about to start so my update would be pretty irregular… I'm taking Japanese and a PE this semester. I'm so excited!

Also I made this chapter a bit comical so we could have a few laughs before the program actually begins.

So here is the continuation of Battle Royale: Dual Fate

Disclaimer: Koushun Takami owns Battle Royale! I only own the characters! And I also own some of the weapons they'll be using for this game! Enjoy.

* * *

><p>Chapter 2: Twisted Reality<p>

**Chloe Fitzhugh's POV (Girl #7)**

I woke up with a pulsing headache. I feel like I had a couple shots of tequila rose again but I don't remember drinking on the bus; heck, I don't remember falling asleep. I rubbed my forehead to alleviate some of the pain and checked my mouth if I drooled while sleeping. If Cody and Janine see that I did, they'd freaking laugh at me till the trip is over.

I look to my side to see the two of them and find out that we weren't on the bus. Cody and Janine were still on my left but they were sprawled on armchairs. I looked around and saw that pretty much everyone was sleeping in various positions. The only one awake aside from me was Mama Garcia. The lighting was terrible but I could see that her eyes were red and puffy. She met my gaze and pointed her fingers at her neck. I touched my neck and felt something cold and metallic wrapped around it. It wasn't loose but it didn't choke me as well. I immediately shook Cody so he would wake up. I wanted to scream but seeing that we were in an unknown location with weird objects on our necks, I doubted yelling would do anything productive.

"Five more minutes, mom..." Cody replied groggily.

If I couldn't scream at him or shake him I did the next best thing, I slapped him. He fell down his chair and made a racket. _Wrong move Chloe_. When Cody made his way back to his chair he complained to me his signature "what was that for?"

"It's because you're a freaking…"

I was about to call him an idiot when a stern looking woman walked into the room accompanied by six guys in full fatigues and accompanying firearms. She looked at me and Cody and gave us a big sadistic grin. I was willing to bet a week's worth of allowance that some of those teeth were artificial. She was wearing a salmon office blouse with a sea green skirt and a red scarf. I wasn't in front of the class to see what shoes she was wearing but I'm guessing it would also be bright and horrendous. If Vanessa saw her right now, she'd probably faint. She freaking looked like a Technicolor hippo with all the wrinkles.

She took out a metal ruler form the teacher's table in front and tapped it on the chalk board.

"Rise and Shine, pumpkins" She said in her high-pitched, perky voice.

Everyone started waking up and their facial expressions were limited to scared, confused or shocked.

"I can see that everyone's already up, my name by the way is Sylvia Abbott but you can all call me Teacher Sylvia."

She was obviously waiting for a response or a chorus of 'Good Morning Teacher Sylvia' but everyone was still in their respective trances. I glanced back and Vanessa's eyes were as big as saucers and she looked like she needed a barf bag. Ashley Schultz was patting her back comfortingly. Kiefer Blanchard looked appalled as he gazed at 'Teacher Sylvia' as if he was waiting for the punch line.

"Okay, now since I am your teacher and this is a classroom, we have a few rules to follow. Rule number one: Raise your hand if you want to say something and wait for your name to be called before speaking up. People caught talking out of turn will be punished."

She smiled as one of the guys in fatigues displayed his gun for the class to see and he pointed it towards the blackboard. He then pulled the trigger and a shower of splinters and smoke replaced that part of the board. Everyone was now in a state of shock. I can't even glance behind me since I'm afraid I might offend Teacher Sylvia or one of the gunmen by doing so.

"Excellent, so you better be on your best behavior alright? We don't want anyone of you hurt… yet."

She gave us one of her trademark sadistic grin and I can't help but cry now. She is definitely made out of pure evil.

"Okay now rule number two: I want everyone to be sitting properly, in proper posture of course."

Everyone, including me, shuffled in our armchairs and sat in the best posture we could muster.

"Excellent, class! Now I think you're now ready for our lecture for the day. Listen carefully since this might be your last lecture. No note taking required. I just want your complete attention on the lecture since you'll be tested on the subject matter soon. Is that clear children? Please reply with 'yes Teacher Sylvia' if you understand."

We all chimed the response back at her and I was really paranoid now. Tears were flowing from my eyes and I know that some of us were crying as well. Cody, like the wimp he is, was bawling like a two year old who lost his balloon.

"Okay so let me ask you a question first. Does anyone know why you're here? Raise your hand if you know. "

My body moved before my brain could think and I glanced around the room to see if someone was raising their hands. I wasn't shot or anything thank goodness and I saw Mama Garcia raising her hand shakily. Maybe that's why she'd been crying the whole time, she knows what will happen.

"Oooh okay let me know your name first." Teacher Sylvia said as she took out her clipboard. "Ah, I see. Miss Garcia, the perfect example of what a teenager should not turn out to be. What's the answer, dearie?"

I cringed at her sudden harsh tone. What she said was just plain rude but I can't speak up to her like I do to my mom. Mama Garcia was shocked by her accusation but she responded in between sobs.

"We've been chosen for this year's Program…"

It all suddenly hit me like a speeding train. The collar, the ugly, horrible teacher and even the field trip… We were chosen for this year's Battle Royale. We've been sent to a punishment worse than hell!

Teacher Sylvia clapped her hands in delight before uttering her response.

"Very good Miss Garcia, you're not a washout after all. That's right class. You were chosen this year for the annual Battle Royale. Now the Battle Royale Program originated from the beautiful country of Japan. Some countries, like ours, have adopted this program for different reasons. For example, China does it to decrease the number of males in their country while Russia does it for entertainment purposes. Ours on the other hand, uses it to decrease the vile delinquents this country has. Look at your selves my darling angels, multi-colored hair, trinkets and accessories everywhere, numerous disciplinary actions, my word, these things are horrible! We need role models for our America, not hooligans! Every single victor of our Battle Royales turned out into someone the youth can follow and idolize. Just look at Taylor Lautner!"

Major Eeeeew alert! Teacher Sylvia has the hots for Taylor Lautner! How disgusting can this woman get?

"Anyways, there are some key things you should know about the Program. First of all are the collars on your neck right now. Try to feel it but don't pull it out, it will explode!"

I glanced around again and saw everyone removed their fingers away from the exploding collar.

"Now that collar will always monitor your pulse so we will know who's still alive and who's not. They are waterproof, shockproof and tamperproof so you can't remove them. Those collars are also controlled by us so if a complete day passes by without anyone dying, we will all be sad since we have to detonate all of your collars." She pretended to pout but I could still make out a smirk from the corner of her lips. I was already starting to tremble and the hairs of my skin were now standing up. The woman in front of us is insane!

"Now the next thing you need to learn is what we call a Danger Zone. The island we're in now is divided into a hundred sections. You will see what it looks like in the maps you'll be receiving later. Every announcement I make, that will be every 6 and 12 o' clock in the morning and evening, I'm going to tell you the names of your fallen comrades and the areas that would become danger zones and the time when they will be activated as danger zones. Now you make sure you get the coordinates of those areas because if you're caught in one when the danger zone becomes active then your collar will explode and I'm pretty sure you don't want that right? Also the school will also be the first danger zone in this game and it will get activated twenty minutes after the last student leaves the school. That time would be more than enough for someone to leave the area completely."

The more she spoke, the harder I cried. I never thought I could cry this much but when your life's on the line; I guess this is what really happens. There's no use denying this now… I am part of this living twisted nightmare now…

"Okay, the last thing I will cover is your day pack. Each day pack consists of food, water, a watch, a compass, a map of the island, a tickler and a pen and of course, your weapon. Now the weapon you'll be getting is really random so you could unleash your creativity on how you utilize it. I know that you have some important things from your bags that you want to bring like changes of clothes, medications or even some mementos, so you are free to place some of those items into your day pack but only bring a few things, okay? We don't want you to carry a lot of baggage that can bring you down."

She smiled again and this one was the most menacing of them all. I'm really starting to think that this woman will eat our remains when we die.

"Now are there any questions, class? Don't be shy now. This might be your last chance to address a particular concern of yours"

I wanted to ask her right now if she was part troll but I didn't want to die at this very moment so I bit my tongue. I looked around and saw that no one had any questions. Most of us were crying or on the verge of crying. Tiffany and her crew's faces had smudges because of the tears ruining their makeup. I saw Logan hold the hand of his girlfriend, Camille, for comfort. I lastly looked at my friends Cody and Janine. Cody was crying badly and his nose was beginning to get runny. Janine was also crying but she was looking in my direction and she was mouthing something at me. 'I guess this is goodbye' was what I read from her mouth and that made me cry even more. I can't kill my classmates, especially my friends. I hate the government! I hate whoever thought that this program would be a great addition to our lives. I fucking hate all of them! My brain was on an autopilot murderous rant already but was stopped when Teacher Sylvia started speaking again.

"I almost forgot, children. We added a new twist this year, instead of only one person surviving; we decided to make it two people instead. See how nice the government is? But it won't be the last two standing as some of you might think. You kids will be partnered up and if both of you are alive as the last people standing then you would both be crowned as the victors! Your partners have already been decided so you don't have to fret in finding a partner right now. I'm going to hand you now an envelope containing the name of your partner. And please keep your joy or disgust to yourselves. I don't want anyone making silly noises."

She walked towards us and individually gave us the envelopes with our names outside. I badly wanted to trip her when she was walking down my aisle but I restrained myself. I took the envelope she gave me and opened it immediately.

Inside the envelope was the name, Justin Cowan .Of all the people in our class, it just had to be him? Now this is a real joke! I crumpled up the envelope and looked at him in the corner of the room. He had his eyes closed but there was no sign of him crying. What an insensitive bastard!

I looked back at Cody and Janine and saw them looking at each other. Janine signaled to me that they were partners. Great! At least I know which pair I would like to win. I gave them a 'thumbs up' to show my support for them and Janine tried to smile but she just started crying again.

"Attention class, the Program will start in a few minutes. Compose yourself first as we choose who will be the first person to go."

She produced a jar containing multi-colored balls that reminded me of jawbreakers or bingo balls.

"Okay once I announce the name of the first person to leave, I want him or her to stand up, get their respective day pack and stuff in front and head out that door. We'll wait a full two minutes before the next person goes, okay? If we start with boy #1 then girl #1 follows then boy #2 and so on. Is that clear?" I nodded

"So the lucky person to leave first is… Boy #8 Percival Hale!"

My mind just cracked the moment she said Percy's name. Percy is boy #8 in our class and I just happen to be girl #7. That means I'm going to be the last person to leave… _Crap_.

* * *

><p>AN: So there is chapter 2! Do you like it, love it, hate it? Tell me in your reviews!<p>

And as usual I have a question for the chapter.

The Question of the Chapter is: Who did you visualize as Sylvia Abbott? I was thinking on the lines of Joe Walker's version of Dolores Umbridge in AVPS, hence the Taylor Lautner reference.

And with that, Percival Jones is out. Peace!


	3. List of Contestants

The 23rd American Battle Royale Program List of contestants

Target Class: Class 3C of Northridge High School, Dayton, Ohio

Student List

B1: Jake Anderson

G1: Aileen Alcantara

B2: David Arias

G2: Milan Avery

B3: Kiefer Blanchard

G3: Isabelle Burton

B4: Kenneth Cheng

G4: Vanessa Cohen

B5: Justin Cowan

G5: Rachelle Dawson

B6: Adam Gruesen

G6: Tiffany Evans

B7: Ervin Gunner

G7: Chloe Fitzhugh

B8: Percival Hale

G8: Lauren Garcia

B9: Francis Jackson

G9: Cara Howell

B10: Damien Knight

G10: Sarah Howell

B11: Mitchell Lane

G11: Lily Long

B12: Greg Lanter

G12: Cynthia Morgan

B13: Cody Miller

G13: Camille Richmond

B14: Allan Rowe

G14: Francesca Rivera

B15: Enrique Sanchez

G15: Ashley Saunders

B16: Logan Steele

G16: Thea Schultz

B17: Vincent Thorne

G17: Celina Trevino

B18: Kristian White

G18: Janine Williams


	4. Departure

AN: So here's another update and the program has finally started! Someone might die in this chapter so be ready.

And just to make it clear. The class is in their junior year and the school year is nearly finished.

So here is the continuation of Battle Royale: Dual Fate

Disclaimer: Koushun Takami owns Battle Royale! I only own the characters here. I do not own Vampire Diaries, Justin Bieber or Taylor Lautner. I just added that since I mentioned them in the past chapters.

* * *

><p>Chapter 3: Departure<p>

**Percival Hale's POV (Boy #8)**

Do you know that feeling when your whole life suddenly flashes before your eyes? Well, I'm having that feeling right now. I can't believe that thirty-four of us, or thirty-five if we're that unlucky, will wind up dead in a few days from now… And let's be honest, I'll most likely be one of those. I just can't believe that my life didn't really amount to much. I've never driven a car outside of Driver's Ed class. I've never had a girlfriend nor ever kissed a girl for that matter. I've never drank a drop of alcohol and I most certainly never received any trophy or award that I can call an achievement. I'm a nobody; I'm not role model material and that's probably why I'm here with my other classmates. Life sucks like that.

I'll just die as a boring seventeen year old. I know that I could never fight my classmates. I think I could survive long enough while hiding out but that's just prolonging the inevitable. The only thing that gives me a 'chance' in this stupid program is probably my stamina and my swimming skills. Wait, that's it! Teacher Sylvia mentioned that we're on an island! If by any chance there's an island near to this one, maybe I could swim towards it. But there's just one big problem: Francis, my best friend and luckily, my partner. He's not the most confident swimmer that I know and the open seas will not make it easier. I obviously can't just leave him here while I make an escape. Maybe there will be some boats by the shore. That's too optimistic for my taste, but in this situation, I need all the good luck I can get.

I looked to my right and saw that Francis was crying his eyes out. It's strange that I'm not joining the bandwagon of crying people in our classroom. Maybe my eyes were still in denial so they wouldn't produce a single tear, or my body just simply accepted my impending death that it's no longer reacting. Francis was wiping away the tears on his face using his signature hand towel and he suddenly looked at me. I gave him a comforting smile and he managed to smile weakly but he still couldn't help but whimper.

"Attention class, the Program will start in a few minutes. Compose yourself first as we choose who will be the first person to go." Teacher Sylvia suddenly said.

I started to get nervous as the Program neared its start. Then my nervousness got me real bad and I grew paranoid. I glanced around the classroom to see who among my classmates would be a potential threat. Which of them would actually consider playing this sick game? I didn't want to believe that anyone from our class would participate in this bloodbath but with the twenty-four hour deadline and the constant fear for our lives, some of us would probably breakdown from the stress. I just hoped that I wouldn't go down that path. My train of thought disappeared when Teacher Sylvia spoke up again.

"Okay, once I announce the name of the first person to leave, I want him or her to stand up, get their respective day pack and stuff in front and head out that door. We'll wait a full two minutes before the next person goes, okay? If we start with boy #1 then girl #1 follows then boy #2 and so on. Is that clear?"

Well, that was good. Francis and I would leave the school almost simultaneously as long as he or Lauren doesn't get picked first. Teacher Sylvia finally picked up the ball that contained who would go first and all my nervousness returned full force.

"So the lucky person to leave first is… Boy #8 Percival Hale!"

Well, I didn't see that coming. Who would have thought that I'd be lucky enough to be selected first? I mean being selected first is good, right? I'll be the first to go out so I won't be in danger of an attack, unless Lauren decides to attack me while I wait for Francis. I then realized that everyone's eyes were on me. I was still sitting down and I hadn't moved a muscle since my name was called. Teacher Sylvia was glaring at me and I just gulped.

"Mr. Hale, I believe my voice was loud enough for your waterlogged ears to hear. Do you need a bit of persuasion to stand up and get your respective items?"

Teacher Sylvia signaled one of the army guys and he pointed his gun at Francis. My eyes grew wide and I jumped out of my chair. I took the day pack and my duffel bag. I looked back at my classmates and treasured that moment. This would be the last time I'd see all of us together. I smiled at them and for the first time, I actually felt like crying. This class wasn't perfect by a long shot but we still had our moments of brilliance. I quickly stopped my nostalgia before anyone got hurt, especially Francis. I looked at Teacher Sylvia and I stifled a fake cough.

"Oh right, Horace can you please lower your gun now?"

The army guy followed the order immediately and I finally relaxed. I opened the door out of the classroom and stepped into a lightly illuminated hallway. I looked to my left and right and it just looked the same. I was about to head right when I heard the annoyingly high-pitched voice of Teacher Sylvia.

"Pardon my memory, Mr. Hale. I may look thirty but I'm in my mid-forties already. The exit is on the last door of the hallway if you head to your left. Now remember to not take all of the contents of your baggage. That would just slow you down and no loitering, dear. We don't want anything bad happening to you, do we now?"

I followed her instructions the moment she flashed her sadistic smile. I didn't want to hear more of her 'teacher advices' anytime soon. The hallway was pretty much barren and scary with the minimal lighting. I dashed through it and found the big double doors with the exit sign on top. I opened it and found myself in the darkness of the night. I didn't have a watch with me to tell what time it is and my mobile phone was already dead. I should have really charged it back at home… The crescent moon wasn't bright enough to offer proper vision so I just walked a bit towards the woods, still completely visible from the school exit. I opened my daypack and saw a big black thing inside of it. It was obviously my weapon. I took it out and felt its weight. It was one of those bulky guns with a dagger on the tip that we saw in our history books.

I suddenly heard loud footsteps coming and out came Lauren, carrying her bags with her. She froze when she saw me and I was holding the gun. Shit! I look like I'm planning to kill all of them as they exited through the door. I tried to go near her but she quickly sidestepped and dashed away into the forest. Why am I so retarded right now? I obviously scared her away by doing that and now I am killer-branded.

Apparently, two minutes have already passed since I could now hear Francis' footsteps. He immediately ran towards me and I knew that he was going to give me a hug like he usually does when either one of us is stressed. He stopped when he noticed my hand was still holding the grip of my weapon.

"Why are you holding that gun? Are you planning on killing people? How could you?"

He was crying again and he tried to punch me in the face. I easily dodged it and I grabbed both of his hands to calm him down.

"Francis, could you please calm down?"

"No! You're going to kill Cara and Damien and all the others! For all I know you could have already killed Lauren!" he replied hysterically.

"Dude, I have no intentions of playing this game! I just opened my daypack to see its contents since it was heavy and I saw this thing, okay?"

He stopped struggling and looked at me with his tear-stained eyes. "B-but where's Lauren then?"

"She made the same assumption that you did and ran away." Before he could preach me about my stupidity, I answered him back. "And yes, taking out my weapon was a very bad move. I get it."

He smiled and finally gave me that hug that I expected. Our small reunion was suddenly interrupted by a new set of footsteps. Out came Cara, one of the twins, and she was already holding her weapon, an army knife. She flinched when she saw us but her scowl returned when she saw that we weren't on attack mode.

"You two, leave now! I won't let you attack my sister!" She said as she brandished her blade.

I was about to tell her that we were leaving anyway but Francis went on his 'Mr. Nice Guy, diplomat' mode.

"Cara, we don't want to fight. I was planning on all of us to meet up here so we could all think of a way to escape this. I mean with all of us thinking of a way to get out of here, we're bound to think of something right?"

As beautiful as that sounded, that plan was way too unrealistic. Francis really tried to believe in the good of the world but this was just plain blind optimism. I failed to notice that he was making his way towards Cara. In a blink of an eye, Cara grabbed Francis and she had the tip of her knife near his neck. I grabbed my weapon and pointed it at Cara.

"Hale, I doubt you'd risk shooting me with Francis this close to me. I doubt you've ever shot a gun before and you wouldn't want to hit the wrong target now, do you?" She got me blackmailed so I lowered my weapon. "Good. Now pick both of your stuff up and I'll let go of this fag friend of yours so both of you can be on your merry way."

I flinched when he called Francis a fag. Sure, it was true since he already told me before, but he's still hiding in the closet. With his attitude and movement, he was questionable at best. I really hate it when people tease or bully him about his sexuality, just like now. If only Cara didn't hold the cards in this situation, I would have yelled at her right now and demanded an apology or worse, shot her. I hurriedly picked up my bags and Francis' so Cara could release him already. When I was done, I glared at her, expecting that she would release Francis already but she still held him at knifepoint.

"Okay Hale, now give me your Bayonet." She said with a smirk.

"My what?" I must have made a very weird face because Francis giggled despite his predicament.

"She means your gun, Perce."

_So that's what this thing is called! _I was about to give it to Cara when a thought popped into my mind. If she gets the gun, she still might not keep her end of the bargain. If she did release Francis, then the both of us would be left defenseless and she could easily kill us with the gun. I'm obviously stuck between a rock and a hard place and the other option that I could think of is run away and just hope that she doesn't kill Francis.

"What are you waiting for, Hale? I could easily kill him now, you know." She barked at me.

I then noticed that Damien was almost by the door and though I knew that it was a terrible thing to do, I made him into a distraction.

"That" I said in response to her earlier question, pointing one of my fingers towards Damien. Cara turned to look and she let her guard down in the process. Luckily, Francis caught on with my plan and pushed Cara away and made a beeline towards me. We started running towards the darkness of the forest and left Cara and Damien to their own devices.

* * *

><p>After a few minutes of running in the same direction, Francis and I stopped to catch our breaths. We were both convinced that we were already in a safe distance away from the school and that neither Cara, nor Damien, followed us through the woods. The moment I placed our stuff down on the forest floor, I felt the muscles of my shoulders and arms ache from all the weight I carried. I sat down on the ground and massaged my arms the way I usually do after swimming practices. Francis sat down as well and got his cell phone from the front pocket of his messenger bag. He started pushing some buttons for a while and he gave off a heavy sigh afterwards.<p>

"The communication signals are scrambled in this area. The only use for my phone now is for time keeping and its flashlight function."

He pressed a key on his phone and the built-in flashlight sparked to life. With the added light, we could see more of our surrounding. We were on a fairly used trail in the forest evidenced by the dirt path and a good portion of bushes and thick trunked trees were on our vicinity. As we rested, I suddenly remembered my 'escape plan'. I took from my daypack the provided map and compass to see where we could possibly be. Francis saw what I was doing and sat beside me, focusing the light of the cell phone towards the map.

"What are you looking for Percy?"

"Well for one thing, I want to know where in the island are we. Then where is the nearest shore so that maybe we could find an abandoned boat or something."

He shot me an 'are you serious?' look but he still checked the map and the compass. He was smarter than I was in most of our subjects and he actually paid attention to the orienteering lecture in Geography. After a few more seconds he already had his guess.

"Since the school we came from is located in the D4 area and according to the compass, we've been moving east, so judging by the distance we ran we're either in D6 or D7."

"So we just have to keep moving east to reach the shores, right?"

"Yes, but your plan has a lot of holes in it. First, if they could afford to block out the signals in this island then the government would also, most likely, remove all forms of water transportation in the island. Then, there's the collar. If we ever find a boat or even build one, their trackers could easily spot us escaping by sea and they could just detonate our collars."

"Won't it break down from the seawater?"

"It's waterproof, remember? Besides it would take years for this kind of metal to corrode because of seawater."

"Well I'm out of ideas. Thanks for debunking them." I said sarcastically while smiling.

"Hey. I'm optimistic but my scientific principles still make me realistic."

"Oh really? And you were thinking realistically when you approached Cara, while she had a knife, telling her that we could all work together?" He looked hurt from what I said. I was about to apologize when he spoke again.

"Fine, I wasn't thinking clearly that time. I just badly wanted all of us to stay and work together. With all of our different skills and expertise, we could probably crack this game. For example, Kenneth and his crew are great with engineering and all those techno stuff because of their pranks so maybe they could think of a way to remove the collars. Or Damien could think of a way to unblock the signal scrambling. If we could just all work together, maybe we could really beat this thing. Maybe if we all stuck together, none of us would have to die…"

The moment he said that, tears started to form again in his eyes. I felt guiltier now since I sort of made him cry again. I placed a soothing hand on his shoulder in my attempt to comfort him. When that didn't work, I did the next best thing; I leaned close to him and pulled him into a hug. That got his attention and he slowly stopped crying. Just when I thought that we could finally calm down again and think of a plan to get out of here, a loud noise pierced into the silence of the night, a gunshot. It was followed by another and then another, a few seconds afterwards. Three freaking gunshots! A surge of panic came over me and that sent adrenaline shooting through my veins. Someone just fired a gun, meaning they're participating in the program! I'm pretty sure that there were still a lot of our classmates in the school at this very moment and whoever this sick bastard was was probably gunning them down one at a time. I wanted to go back but I know that I'll just be too late. I let go of Francis, stood up and extended my hand to help him stand. He was staring at the ground and he was shaking. I picked up all of our stuff again and slung the strap of my bayonet on my shoulder. I can't take chances now. Someone's playing out there and I'm not going to risk my life, or Francis', anymore.

"Francis, we have to move now. We're still technically close to the school and we can't afford to be spotted by whoever shot that gun."

"P-Percy… someone's d-dead… o-one of our classmates is dead…" He said as he sobbed on the ground.

I squatted so I could be on eye level with Francis. If he's going to get emotional and breakdown every time, then we'll just end up as the next victims.

"Francis, listen to me. We don't know yet if someone actually died. It could have been just a scared classmate of ours shooting at nothing, okay? We really need to move and find a safer place where we can think of a plan to get us out of here, you hear me? You want to try and save everyone, right?"

"Y-yes."

"Okay, now stand up so we can get a move on. The sooner we find a safe place to stay for a while, the sooner we can make a plan to escape."

My little pep rally worked as he stood up and dusted his clothes. He took from me his daypack and his messenger bag and he held his cell phone tightly as we made our way on the trail following our small light source. I was really hoping that what I said to Francis was true. I wish that someone didn't die and that was a simple misfire and I was really praying that we find a way out of this nightmare.

* * *

><p>AN: There! Chapter 3 is finally done! It's quite long but we finally get some story as foretold by Percy. And we got to know Percy, Francis and even Cara in this chapter. Hurray! I'm a little bit torn whether I like this chapter or not since I think it's a bit long and a tad repetitive. Tell me what you think guys in your reviews!<p>

On a side note, my Japanese class is fun but it is now starting to be demanding and stressful but I'll still try to keep with the twice a week update but I might falter when the exams come up…

Question of the Chapter: Do you think that someone did die this chapter or was it really just a mistaken gunshot? If someone died, who do you think it is?

You'll find out soon what the real answer is next chapter which will be told by Mr. Logan Steele.

And with that, Percival Jones is out. Peace!


	5. Palmers' Kiss

AN: So yah nothing to say. Here's the next chapter.

Disclaimer: I only own the plot and the characters, not the actual program. I also don't own Romeo and Juliet since i quoted from it in this chapter.

* * *

><p>Chapter 4: Palmers' Kiss<p>

**Logan Steele's POV (Boy #16)**

I watched as Cynthia Morgan, or as she prefers to be called, Sinch, walk out of the classroom carrying her respective daypack and her black gothic backpack. She looked back at us and I could see how horrible her face looked like after a long time of crying. All the unnecessary makeup she added to her face was so smudged by her tears that she looked like a portrait out of the expressionism movement .Her eyes were fixed on something and I turned to see that she was looking at Vincent Thorne. They were probably the assigned partners for this game. I still don't get why the government was the one that partnered us together. I mean, what do they fucking know about our lives that they could be the ones to manipulate who we're suppose to survive with for this game? I just don't understand why I wasn't partnered with my girlfriend, Camille. That was the most logical choice, right? But no, the government had to twist logic and partner me up with the bitchiest woman on earth, Ashley. The only thing good about having her as a partner is that I would leave right after her. But I'd still prefer my girlfriend over that stupid advantage.

I looked at Camille who has been crying non-stop since the announcement of the program. The only time I've seen her cry this hard was when she performed her dramatic scenes for the school's theater productions where she always lands lead role. Obviously, these tears were not part of any act for some stage audience. I always held her hand whenever Teacher Sylvia wasn't looking at us just so she would know that I'm here for her and for reassurance that she's here with me. A simple touch of hers whenever we had rough times in school or in our life brightened up my day, but that feeling just isn't working right now. I still didn't know who was assigned as her partner but that person better take care of her because I want her to live.

Two minutes have passed and Teacher Sylvia announced Cody Miller's name. He quickly stood up and let go of the hands of Janine and Chloe. Those three were such good friends even though they tended to bicker a lot. Seeing them part fueled my anger at the government for making us do this insanity. They were willing to destroy friendships, relationships and most importantly, lives for an unworthy cause.

As Cody stepped out of the classroom, only twenty-five of us remained here waiting for our near demise. Camille held my hand tighter since she was the next person to go. I didn't care if her grip was blocking my circulation; I wanted to be here for her to calm her down, if that was ever possible.

A risky idea came to my head but I just had to try it because there's no harm in trying, right? I raised my hand high, the one not holding Camille's, and got the attention of Teacher Sylvia.

"Yes, Mr. Steele, what is it that you want?"

"Since Camille is the next person to go, can you allow me to at least hug her and walk her out of the classroom? I'm her boyfriend after all."

"I have to be honest with you, Mr. Steele. That is not allowed in the rules, but since I'm a fan of romances, especially ones that end in tragedies, then I'll grant your wish, but there will be no talking. Understood?"

"Yes, Teacher Sylvia." I quickly replied with a hopeful smile.

"And that's the only time I'll be willing to bend the rules so all of you can put down your hands now and wait for your turn to be called. I'm your instructor not your fairy godmother."

I glanced around as Rachelle, Kris and a handful of others put their hands down and went back to staring at their desks. I saw Chloe smile at me, probably for getting that lucky opportunity from Teacher Sylvia.

"Camille Richmond, you are next. Mr. Steele, please make your escorting quick."

I stood up and took her hand to assist her in standing. I then remembered our first date together, almost three years ago, in the local park where we had a simple picnic lunch. After our light meal, I stood up and took her hand to assist her in standing so we could take a nice leisurely stroll. When she stood up, she was smiling beautifully before speaking up.

* * *

><p>"'Palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss' William Shakespeare"<p>

"What?"

"It means that having hands intertwined is already considered a kiss, Logan."

"Well, umm… should I let go of your hand or something then?"

"No, of course not, I like the feeling of being 'kissed'." She replied with a giggle.

* * *

><p>I held on to that memory as I walked her out of the classroom. I took her red velvet-like knapsack while she took her standard black daypack. Before giving Camille her bag, I enveloped her in a hug and kissed the tip of her nose. I held her so close that I could feel the tears streaming down her face fall on my shirt. I whispered a quick 'I love you' to her before we were asked by Teacher Sylvia to break the hug off. Before I completely let her go, I took hold of her hand once more, intertwining our palms and risked speaking in class without permission.<p>

"Palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss."

The moment I spoke up, I saw the soldiers grab their guns and point it at me but I stood brave and strong for Camille and I saw her smile lightly upon registering what I just said.

"Romeo and Juliet, what a nice material to quote from, Mr. Steele. Although I do recall my mentioning that there must be no speaking without permission!" Teacher Sylvia scolded. "Mr. Steele, sit down now or suffer the consequences and you, Ms. Richmond, please step out of the classroom now so we can proceed with our schedule! The next time any of you rascals break the rules, I will allow the guards to take some of you out. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Teacher Sylvia." I grumbled as I made my way back to my armchair, looking at Camille as she made her way down the hallway.

"Now, I do not want anymore tomfoolery from you, Mr. Steele or any of your other classmates. I've tried being a nice teacher for you little kids but I guess I have to become a firm disciplinarian so you will abide by my rules."

I just stared at the classroom's doorway as Teacher Sylvia released steam. The fact that she was all bark and no bite proved my theory that she's not allowed to kill anyone of us. All she can do is threaten us with those guns and hope that the fear and paranoia deals with our teenage rebellion. I still had to wait for four more students to leave before I get my name called. I badly wanted Camille to wait for me outside but that would put her into too much danger. I'll just have to find a way to see her after I leave here.

* * *

><p>A few more minutes passed and Ashley's name was called. She looked at me confidently and I got her signal that she'd be waiting outside, obviously. She held her daypack on one side and her huge handbag on the other. I could already imagine how much this girl would nag and bitch-talk me throughout the duration of the program. She finally left the classroom, her long blonde hair waving as she walked and her heels loudly clicking on the tiled flooring. The first thing I'm going to tell Ashley when I get outside is for her to remove her high heels. Those would only tip her balance as we move through the area.<p>

Suddenly a loud banging shook our ears in the classroom. It was a fucking gunshot! I heard Ashley scream in pain but the sound was overridden by another gunshot. My heartbeat was rapidly increasing and panic was surging in my body. Someone is playing and they just killed Ashley right now! I didn't even notice that I was crying but the ones that cried hardest were Tiffany, Milan and Vanessa, Ashley's friends. Another gunshot sounded and everyone in the classroom knew that Ashley was most likely gone.

Our chorus of sobs was overpowered by Teacher Sylvia's hysterical laughing. She was happy, no, more like overjoyed that we were crying our eyes out again and someone from our class had finally died. She was fighting her laughing fit when she addressed us again.

"It's alright my little soon to be angels, almost all of you are bound to die anyway and Ms. Saunders was just one step ahead of you. And you never know, maybe she's still alive out there. Maybe she received a gun as a weapon and tried to scare you off so you'd come out distracted and teary-eyed and become easy pickings for her. You never really know what happened unless you see for yourselves. All I know is that people will die and some of you will be the ones responsible for those deaths." She laughed maniacally as if she was a cartoon villain of some sort. "Well another two minutes are up, Mr. Steele please get your daypack and backpack in front."

I stood up and I noticed that I was shaking, probably because of fear. I'm going to walk out of this school with someone probably waiting outside, gunning people down. I still couldn't believe that someone would do such a thing. I took my stuff and went out of the classroom. While in the safety of the hallways, I looked at my daypack for my assigned weapon hoping for something useful like a gun or a shield of some sort. I was disappointed when I saw a long dagger with a fancy prong design by the handles. I saw some of these on a school field trip to a museum before so this was probably an antique or a fake imitation of the actual weapon. I was near the exit and I could smell a faint metallic scent, the smell of blood.

By the school steps lay the body of Ashley all covered with blood. She had bullet punctures on her right leg, near her stomach and finally by her forehead. Either the gunman had practice using firearms or he or she was on a very close shooting distance. By quick observation, I also saw that her daypack was gone but her handbag, now drenched with her blood, remained. I dashed away, careful not to slip on her blood, towards the forest so I wouldn't be out in the open if ever the killer was still there. My mind was still in denial that a classmate of ours did this. Maybe one of those soldiers shot her so we would get paranoid that someone is actually playing the game. Maybe that's what they do so that we would turn on each other. If that was ever the case, then I have to say that it's effective since I'm scared for my life and I'm scared for Camille's life. Who knows how many of our classmates remaining inside would lose their minds once they see Ashley's body? Some of them would probably freak out, break down and give in to the cruel rules of the program.

I was still running in the forest, my bags on one arm and my weapon on the other. I was hoping that I see Camille soon so I could comfort her if ever she heard the gunshots. Now that my partner is gone, maybe the government would reconsider me and Camille as the victors when we are the final ones left. My mind was going a million miles per hour but my goal is clear.

I have to find Camille.

* * *

><p>AN: And there goes another chapter of Battle Royale: Dual Fate. I love how this thing started with Logan and Camille and I sort of liked my finish with Ashley's death.<p>

Rest in Peace Ashley Saunders

So did you like the chapter as much as I did? Did you cry from the mild glimpse of how Logan and Camille love each other? I sure did but I want to know what you think so please review!

Also Logan's weapon that he doesn't know its name is a Sai, a Japanese martial arts weapon.

Question of the Chapter: Who do you think killed Ashley? Bring out your detective caps and magnifying glasses and maybe you'll find a clue somewhere in the past chapters.

The next chapter will be told by the perspective of the person that killed Ashley. You'll notice now that I like to play with the perspectives of different people on similar scenarios. So if you don't like the repetitions then tell me so I could decrease its occurrence.

And with that, Percival Jones is out. Peace!


	6. Monster

AN: So the most awesome reviewer in the world, Double Feature, addressed one big problem of my fanfic: the difference between a person's thoughts and their narration. So to make things easier, the thoughts of the person narrating will be italicized while his normal narration will be, well, normal.

Thank you to Oggy! My other reviewer! I finally got another person who has enough energy to supply reviews! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: You already know the drill so yah.

* * *

><p>Chapter 5: Monster<p>

**Allan Rowe's POV (Boy #14)**

After getting over the initial shock that our class was chosen for the program this year, I came to terms with all the opportunities this game could bring to me.

_For one thing, I am amazingly partnered with the most beautiful girl in class and my lifelong crush, Vanessa. If we survive this together, she'll finally realize that I am the man for her. I'll become her knight in shining armor especially if I happen to save her from a deadly situation in this game. Then, the other benefit the program presents to me is the legal ability to get back at those who oppressed me throughout my school life. All those bullies who think they're the greatest piece of action in this town. All those snobbish jerks who think they're so popular and important. I'd love to see their silly faces when I get them at gunpoint and they're pleading and begging for my mercy and I'll just cast their words aside like they did to me. _

_But that doesn't mean I'll become a bloody murderer. I'll be more like Robin Hood: I'll steal from the rich and give to the poor. Only in this case, I'll kill all those oppressive high profile jerks and sort of defend the bullied, out of place people like me. Of course, if anyone attempts to kill me, enemy or not, then I will definitely fight back. Since physical strength is not an actual basis for survival in this game, I have as much chance of winning this as the next guy. The only edge I have is that I actually have enough pent up anger to kill some of my classmates, and I have this uncanny feeling that I will somehow savor those moments._

My train of thought was broken when Teacher Sylvia spoke up to address Logan. Apparently Logan was trying to ask permission to accompany Camille out of the classroom. The moment she actually acceded to Logan's request, I raised my hand up, hoping that she could also grant me a simple favor that I had in mind. I was hoping that since I am willing to play the game anyway, then maybe I could at least have a weapon that I could put to good use just like the guns the soldiers in front of the class have.

"And that's the only time I'll be willing to bend the rules so all of you can put down your hands now and wait for your turn to be called. I'm your instructor not your fairy godmother." Teacher Sylvia scolded.

_Great, this is just so unfair! Teacher Sylvia is willing to bend the rules for our stupid star-crossed lovers but not for me nor Rachelle nor any of the other losers of the class. Where's the sense of equality? Even the program instructor has her personal biases. Maybe I'll add Logan and Camille to my potential blacklist since they always rub it in our faces how strong their love is for one another. That mangy horn ball and that good-for-nothing slut! If this game has any semblance of equality then they shouldn't be partners for this game!_

Camille was finally called and the lovebirds made their way in front of the classroom to get Camille's stuff. They held hands and hugged and I even expected them to completely make-out in front of the whole class after that, but instead, Logan broke the comfortable silence of sobs that we've been having for quite some time now.

"Palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss."

_What a rule breaking bozo! _

Suddenly the soldiers' guns were pointed at Logan and I blocked my ears to prepare for the loud gunshots but I was only left disappointed. Teacher Sylvia just Logan and sent him back to his chair. I was fuming when he passed by me as he made his way back to his seat.

_Teacher Sylvia bended the rules towards his favor twice already and the game technically hasn't even started. He should already be dead if we had a stricter instructor! If he died, then I'd get a better chance of survival for this game__,__ but since our pathetic excuse for an instructor couldn't do it, then I guess I will. All I need is a great weapon and I'll be the winner of this game alongside Vanessa._

"Mr. Allan Rowe, you're up next. Please get your bags in front." Teacher Sylvia announced.

I quickly stood up and got my rucksack and daypack. My assigned pack was not very heavy so I doubted that it contained the firearms that I needed to win. I just hoped that it contained a small gun or a usable melee weapon. Before I left, I looked at my classmates that would die, one way or another, so that I can survive.

"Be careful, Mr. Rowe. A third of your classmates have already been deployed out there. And I assure you that someone will be playing this game." Teacher Sylvia reminded.

I just nodded my head in agreement and went out of the classroom with a faint smile on my face.

_Of course someone will play this game. I'll be one of them._

* * *

><p>As I walked down the lightly illuminated hallway, I took into consideration Teacher Sylvia's advice.<p>

_Twelve people have already left the classroom and I'm not entirely sure if anyone of them will be willing to play. The twins could be a threat since they're most likely the partners for this game and since they're only separated by Damien__, __then they're probably together at this moment. Mitchell is a problem since he's one of Vincent's cronies so he has his violent tendencies. Lanter is also out there but he's just one of those popular dumb jocks so he won't pose as__a problem. I'll probably be the one to kill that arrogant jerk. Francis, Cody and Camille are probably just whimpering out there just like they did inside the classroom. The others are a complete mystery though especially Lauren and Damien. I'd better be careful around those two._

I walked out of the school and found no one waiting outside. I still crouched down a bit as I made my way to the covers of some sort of bin or shed near the school in case anyone planned an ambush like me. Because of the minimal illumination outside, I'm practically invisible from where I stand but I can see the ones that leave the school due to the lighting from the hallways. I dug through my daypack to see my weapon and saw a small gun with six bullet chambers, a revolver, the same one they used for Russian Roulettes. I checked for extra ammunition but came out with nothing.

_They gave me a gun that only has six bullets in it? I know the economy is crap but couldn't they spare a few more bullets?_

As I zipped my daypack, Francesca Rivera dashed out of the school and within a few seconds, she was gone into the woods. She's one of the neutral ones in our class so I have no intention of killing her as of the moment.

After I made sure that she was gone, I made my way closer to the doors so that I would be in audible range when I call Enrique's name. Enrique's the only person I trust in our class and maybe allying with him will be a logical move for this game. I'll just have to find a way to blindside him when our numbers dwindle.

_I probably wouldn't have the guts to kill him myself so maybe Vanessa could do it for me… Or maybe I could use him as a human shield against some of our other classmates who decide to participate. _

My train of thought was broken when a set of footsteps sounded form the school. A few more seconds and Enrique came out and he was having his tics again. See, Enrique has Tourette's syndrome and that is the reason he gets constantly bullied by Vincent and his crew. Whenever he gets his tics, people either laugh at him or make harsh jokes. Even some of the teachers bully him for this like Mr. Bard, our science teacher. Enrique had his tics in the middle of a lab experiment and knocked out a couple of beakers and flasks. He was forever on our teacher's bad side since then. I was one of the two people who actually befriended him, the other being Rachelle, and I feel bad that he has to participate in this program. But if I want to leave this island alive, then he has to go.

"Enrique!" I whispered a bit loudly enough to get his attention.

"P-p-p-please don't kill me!" he replied with his arms crossing his face in some sort of defense.

"Enrique, it's me Allan. I won't shoot you."

"A-a-Allan!" he stuttered as he approached me, tears running down his eyes.

"Enrique, do you have your medicine with you? Your tics will get you in trouble in this game."

"Y-yep, I have my Clonidine pills with me b-b-but they won't have that much u-use n-now. I'll d-d-die soon…"

"Nope you won't. Let's form an alliance with my partner and yours and we'll make it to the end of this program. We'll just decide what happens afterwards…" I showed him the revolver I was holding and he turned pale.

"Y-you're playing? Why? I c-c-can't do that, A-Allan!"

"Why won't I, Enrique? These people have maltreated you, maltreated us! The moment Ashley walks out of that door, I'm going to shoot her in the head and that would be one less person we'll have to worry about. We can do this Enrique!"

"I c-can't kill a-anyone and i-I'm sure Rachelle can't either!"

_So his partner is Rachelle… figures. As much as Rachelle is nice to Enrique, I always feel like the third wheel when the three of us are together… They're practically a couple in the making._

The sound of loud footsteps roared from the hallway, probably from the heels Ashley was accustomed to wearing. I positioned myself at a shooting distance from the exit. The moment her blonde head popped out of the doorway, I aimed my revolver at her and pulled the trigger. The recoil from the gun was stronger than I thought and I ended up missing her head but the bullet found its way to her right calf. She fell down 'cause of the impact but she was still conscious and screaming her arsenal of colorful profanities.

"Why the fuck did you that, you little prick? You only have the courage to pick on girls do you, you big faggot! Don't tell me you're protecting that vibrating freak? He's probably the reason we're here anyways!"

"Shut up, bitch!" I said as I pulled the trigger again. This time, prepared for the recoil.

What I didn't expect was Enrique lunging at me from behind making me miss again. This time, the bullet hit her stomach and she was now coughing up blood. I pushed Enrique off me and the stress of the moment made his ticking worse.

"Enrique, don't make me shoot you. Leave now before I do something we'll both regret."

"You're a m-m-monster, a-a-Allan! A monster!" he screamed as he ran away sobbing.

"You know… you are a monster..." Ashley said in intervals as she coughed up more blood. "You don't even… have the decency to… finish me off…"

"I'm not the monster here, Ashley. You guys are, and I'm going to slay each and every one of you." I replied as I pulled the trigger again, this time hitting her head and killing her for sure.

_Great__.__ I wasted half of the bullets I was supplied with for this bitch. Her pack better have a nice gun._

I tiptoed to get her daypack, carefully dodging her blood. I opened it up and was heavily disappointed.

_What kind of weapon are binoculars? It's not even the good one that has night vision capabilities… _

I zipped the bag close again and took my own bags. Even if the binoculars wouldn't be pretty helpful, the extra food and water would help me survive more. I left the school grounds and made my way deep into the forest where my other classmates were probably hiding. I'm probably the only one that's thinking of playing right now but if I want to continue this then I needed to get a better weapon.

_Maybe I should have stolen Enrique's pack… who knows what kind of weapon they might give to a handicapped person…_

* * *

><p>I kept dashing through the forest floor, revolver in one hand and my packs on my shoulders. My priority after stopping is to organize my gear so they won't be much of a hindrance to carry. Then I'll try to get a better weapon so that when I find Vanessa, we can win this game.<p>

Maybe I am turning into a monster now, but I'm a monster that will win this program.

* * *

><p>AN: There! I have finally revealed the first person that will participate in this game! Allan Rowe is public enemy #1. There will still be others that will play so I'm sorry Allan, your life here won't be easy.<p>

QOTC: Do you like Allan to win? Or do you like him in general?

And with that, Percival Jones is out. Peace!


	7. Twins

AN: So I have to clarify some things. First of all, I have a self insert in the story somewhere but it is not Percy Hale. I am not that obvious… I just like the name Percy but I'm not Percy. Next is the Dual Fate agenda. The students are indeed partnered but if one dies, that doesn't mean that the other will. If I made that happen, then this story will be over sooo quickly. They are partnered because each partnership has in some range, a social conflict or an unfinished business with one another. Some are shallow but some can really be complex and life shattering. Hope that explains some things.

Oh and yeah, I'm abandoning the "person narrating the chapter's thoughts in italics thing" I guess unless my beta reader does something about it. It's just not my thing and after reading Rick Riordan's new book, the Throne of Fire. My first person writing style is slightly altered… I will probably break the fourth wall a bit more often and I'll have some witty/funny comments along the way… Gosh Rick Riordan, why did you do this to me?

I'm using the italics now to highlight certain words in a sentence. Like words that are used loosely and such.

Sorry for the late update (wow that rhymed). Hope the length of the chapter makes up for it.

Disclaimer: Refer to former chapters' disclaimers.

* * *

><p>Chapter 6: Twins<p>

**Cara Howell's POV (Girl # 9)**

Just when I thought that my life couldn't get any more miserable, someone up there cranks up the dial a notch. Instead of just enduring one more year till I get my freedom in the form of college, my life just _had_ to turn a curve and plunge me into the program with a one in a thirty-six (or thirty-five if the gunshot I heard a while ago killed someone) chance of coming out alive. And the only weapons I have for this game are my provided army knife, an arsenal of writing materials, my cut-throat attitude and of course, my sister, Sarah.

Sarah and I have been running away from the school since the moment she stepped out of the school exit. The only encounter we've had so far was with the fag and his _boyfriend_ and Damien Knight aka Mr. Respect and Honor. I mean, I totally understand how Hale reacted with my death-threatening Jackson but Knight was just, bizarre.

* * *

><p>He came out of the school serving as the decoy the duo needed to escape my clutches and my natural instincts told me to slit his throat for costing me Hale's bayonet. Instead, that plan went out the window when he came out brandishing a razor sharp katana that made my knife look like a toothpick. The elegance of the blade matched its owner and as a teenage girl, I have every right to say that Knight looks too handsome to be the school's biggest brainiac.<p>

As he caught sight of me, I thought that I was about to be the first person to die since my knife wouldn't face off very well with his katana but he surprised me with his next move: Instead of slicing me swiftly, he asked a question.

"Why are you still here?" he asked. His katana pointed at me.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm waiting for my sister." I replied with as much venom as I could muster. "You know, Knight? For the smartest guy in class, you sure act like a dumbass sometimes."

He just looked at me quizzically before giving out a sigh and speaking again.

"That's your opinion, not mine. And since we're already sharing opinions, may I just say that from what I know from you, you're probably scheming something and you'll probably use your sister along the way. I'm guessing you're not even partners for this program."

So he really is a genius on everything! I wouldn't be surprised if he had psychic powers right now or something. My lack of response probably confirmed his theory and he now displayed his famous cocky smile. Even in the low levels of light, I could see his dazzling array of white teeth that just added to his long list of perfection and his smugness is really egging me to either strike him with my knife or kiss him; either option would be perfectly fine with me. After a few seconds worth of staring at each other, he withdrew his katana and started walking away as if he was in our school library and I wasn't standing there with an army knife with a specific task of killing my classmates, him included. My irritation got the best of me and I yelled at him.

"Are you really _that_ arrogant that you don't think I'm going to attack you from behind? And you already know my plan, right? Why don't you kill me or something?"

He looked back and smiled at me. I was too annoyed to enjoy the view.

"If you attack me right now, then your sister will probably see you killing me. That would ruin your plan of allying with her for some brief amount of time because if I know your sister, participating with the program wouldn't sit well with her. And I have no intentions of killing you as of the moment so just enjoy your remaining time of peace."

"Wait, as of the moment? So you _are_ going to participate in the game?" I asked like some stupid school girl in front of his college student tutor.

"Affirmative, but I still have some semblance of my moral code that I want to uphold in this program. I'm not going to attack or kill anyone on our first meeting, like right now, but I'll show no mercy the next time we meet. It's my way of showing my respect towards my classmates. Now I better get going before your sister shows up."

He was dead serious when he said his _moral code _but I just found the whole idea bizarre and stupid. As he left, I managed to utter an equally stupid response.

"Knight, you're weird. You know that?"

He just looked back, smiled and flashed me a 'thumbs up' as he made his way through the forest and without a second to spare, Sarah came running out the hallway with tears in her eyes.

* * *

><p>After running for what felt like an hour, Sarah and I decided to catch a breather. I was still unsure about my plan for the program but it consisted of procuring a better weapon (which I should already have if it weren't for Damien…), blindsiding my sister when she has served her purpose, finding Francesca Rivera (my designated partner) and of course, winning the program. Fairly simple, isn't it?<p>

Throughout our whole escapade in the forest, Sarah still did not stop crying; it surprises me that she still has tears left to produce, but another thing kept bothering me. Up until now, I have no idea what her weapon is or who her partner is or even what's her plan for the game. For all I know, she could have the same plan that I have. That's very unlikely though as people, even our relatives and classmates, say that we're direct polar opposites.

She leaned on the nearest tree trunk and slowly slid down the forest floor. Her long, ginger hair was a mess and since we're identical twins, I probably looked as haggard as she does. She finally stopped crying after a while and I took that as my signal to start my interrogation. I was about to ask her who her partner was when she decided to ask a ridiculous question.

"Cara, can't we go home now?" She said like a depressed child.

That just proves how different we are from each other. I'm more intelligent and mature while she's spoiled, childish and to be honest, a complete imbecile. She might even believe that this is some stupid prank from a gag show and the gunshots we've heard were just for show.

"You _do_ know that we were chosen for the program, right? We can't leave this place just because we want to. We have to play by their rules to succeed." I scolded her.

"But do you really think that they have the heart to make us do that? We're just minors! They'll probably let us go if we don't hurt each other."

"If we don't hurt each other, or kill each other to be more precise, within twenty-four hours, we _all_ die. Teacher Sylvia mentioned that. Weren't you listening at all?"

"She's probably just scaring us, Cara. They can't make us fight each other. That's not possible. Most of us have known each other for more than a decade. That's just inhumane! Dad wouldn't allow this to happen." She said as the floodgate of her eyes opened up again.

Well, that definitely struck a nerve. She of all people should know how much I hate Carl. I hate him so much that I can't even remember the last time I actually called him in an authoritative father-figure kind of way. Carl may be my biological father but he never really acted like one.

* * *

><p>It all started when I was in third grade, when I got into a little fight with the misogynistic Ervin Gunner (The very same guy from our class…) He was being a jerk in our Art class by dipping my pigtails in a bottle of orange poster paint and making stupid comments like 'it wouldn't change anything', so I gave him a piece of my mind. I picked up one of the spare canvasses in the room and slammed it to his face. Of course our art teacher, Mr. Gunner (his father…), only saw me hurting his son and destroying school property so he sent me directly to the principal's office. The principal quickly took the side of the Gunners not because of the physical assault but because of the supplies that have been ruined in the process. He called my mom to discuss my behavior, my possible suspension and some additional expenditure to cover the mess I made in the Art room.<p>

Our house wasn't that far from the school so the principal and I expected my mom to arrive in less than an hour. But an hour came, and then another, but she never showed up. Just when the principal was about to call our house again, the phone ringed and the principal picked it up and suddenly went pale. He went out of his office to use the school's paging system to send my sister to the office as well. I was already freaking out because of the way our principal kept pacing back and forth. When my sister finally arrived, the principal asked her to sit down as he made his way back to his own chair.

"Kids, what I'm about to say is a bit shocking so it's best that you prepare yourselves and keep an open mind." He said.

By the sad yet serious expression he had and the fact that my mom wasn't in the office with us, I already had a guess on what happened but I was still hoping that it was just my natural pessimism kicking in.

"Ummm, your father will be here shortly to pick you girls up so that you could ummm." He mumbled as he fidgeted.

His behavior was slowly irritating me and I am known for my short fused temper. I just badly wanted to know what happened to my mom and he's completely stalling.

"Could you just please tell us what happened to our mother?" I snapped, momentarily forgetting that it was the school principal I was shouting at.

"Your mother has been brought to the hospital after her car got hit by an over speeding delivery truck. She's probably in the ICU as we speak." He replied wearily.

Even though I've guessed what had happened correctly, it still hurt knowing that it actually did happen. My mom had been caught in an accident as she made her way here and now, she's lying on some operating table with crazy machines attached to her body to save her. I began crying as I imagined my mom on one of those scenarios we sometimes see on ER. Sarah remained frozen in her chair with shock written all over her face but when she saw me crying, that broke her stillness spell and she broke down into tears as well.

When Carl arrived to pick us up, it was obvious that he too had been crying as well. He took our stuff and we followed him out of the school towards his own car, a blue Chevrolet Corvette. I looked at the shotgun seat, hoping that my mom was just hiding there somewhere, but that was just me being delusional. When we arrived at the hospital, we tragically arrived too late. The doctors were talking about a lot of medical stuff to Carl and I didn't even bother listening to any of it because I'd just cry harder if I found out what they meant. I just curled up into a ball the moment I sat on the hospital bench.

And that began the fallout between my father-daughter relationship with Carl. He blamed me for my mom's death. He reminded me almost every day that she would have never died if I didn't cause any trouble in school. He even told me that I was the one that deserved to die instead of mom. In fact, he mentioned that in his eulogy to mom; making one of the attendees punch him in the face.

Things cooled off a bit after a year or so. He could now look at me in the eyes without spewing profanities, he stopped drinking again and he started calling me Cara again instead of 'little piece of shit', 'ungrateful bastard', etc. But it was still a given that he hated my guts and after all the verbal abuse I got from him, I could safely say that the feeling is mutual. No matter how many years pass, the bridge between us will never be fixed again. I've learned to adapt to this lifestyle change. I became more independent at a young age and since he barely gave me allowance when I reached my teen years, I started working pretty early as well. Sure, I had to sacrifice a social life to get by, but that's _way_ better than clinging on to someone who only helps you a bit so you can't report him for child abuse.

* * *

><p>With all that happened recently, I even came up with this weird idea that Carl volunteered our class to the program just so he could get rid of me legally. Although that would be pretty illogical since Sarah is the only remaining person he cares about in this world. If Carl truly wouldn't want any of this to happen, he'd probably just be doing it for Sarah.<p>

"Look Sarah, in here, it's either we die or we survive, and sorry for being blunt but one of us is going to die. And if Carl had his way, then obviously that would be me." I said bitterly.

Sarah looked at me as if I just said that I'd be going to kill her, which, given our position, is one of my choices, but I'll just let it slide for the moment. While she was silenced by what I said, I took that time to finally get a chance to pry some information out of her.

"Look Sarah, we're not partners so technically, we can't survive together. And despite the number of suicide attempts I've had in the past, I want to live; so I'm going to participate in the program. Now I know that means I'm going to kill you sooner or later, but I'll be choosing later." She was now crying her heart out again. The stress of the situation has really gotten to her and it will only be a matter of time before she completely breaks down and goes berserk.

"Listen to me, Sarah. There are still a lot of us right now so we can still form an alliance, the two of us and our partners. Now can you tell me who you're partnered with so we don't accidentally kill him or her?"

"It's pointless, Cara. He probably wouldn't even ally with us. He barely notices me at all…"

"We're fucking stuck in the program, Sarah! Even if I get partnered up with that loser Rowe or that drug addict Lane, I would still work with them for the sake of survival and I'm pretty sure your partner would feel the same way!" I snapped.

I regretted shouting at her the moment I stopped talking. People that heard my voice could find out where we are. I shushed Sarah for a while and listened intently for anyone approaching us. Luckily, the sounds around us were limited to the insects chirping and buzzing around.

"The coast is clear for now. Don't make me shout at you again, Sarah. That will put _both_ of us in danger. So can you please tell me now who your partner is?"

"Fine… it's David…" She replied with a slight blush.

I should have really seen that coming when she said it was pointless. Sarah has been crushing on that Arias jock for a long time now and she's so obvious and vocal about it that I'm pretty sure Arias knows it. But he hasn't acknowledged Sarah even for a bit the whole year. Arias only hanged out with his teammates like Anderson and Lanter and even with them, he tends to be the quiet one.

I then realized how jealous I was of Sarah right now. At least she gets to be partnered with a guy she really likes while I get to be partnered with Rivera, my church choir rival. I really have nothing against Rivera since she's pretty much an anti-social girl both in school and in church, but given our connection with one another, we'd probably work better as opponents killing each other than looking out for each other's backs. Heck, looking back at things, I don't even recall having a proper conversation with her at all since she always remains silent to preserve her golden voice.

If only I ended up getting partnered with Knight rather than Rivera (not because I have a faint crush on him, mind you), then we'd probably win the entire Battle Royale program without breaking a sweat. He already admitted to me that he was willing to kill in this game. We could have gotten Hale's bayonet and disposed of him and Jackson then we could just kill the others as they walked out of the classroom. It would be as simple as that if we became partners, but nope, my life perpetually sucks.

"Who's yours?" Sarah asked, breaking the silence.

"Rivera" I replied plainly.

"Then why didn't you wait for her outside the school? There are only a few people separating you from the count."

"Seven people are not few in this program Sarah. Who knows what each of those people were thinking at that moment. I frankly don't trust anyone in our class and since those seven people carry different types of weapons then I would never be safe around them. What if they had a gun? They could have easily shot me down, shot _us_ down."

"Do you really believe that our classmates would play this game, Cara? If we were all complete strangers then maybe, but we're classmates, neighbors and even friends; it just couldn't happen…"

"Why don't you ask that to all the other programs that happened before? You already heard the gunshots awhile ago and I already know that Damien will participate. Wake up from your dreamland Sarah! This is happening. You have to grow up and you can start by at least opening up your daypack and taking out your weapon."

"I'm not taking it out because I'm not using it. You're wrong Cara, if we all just stick together and trust one another then _no one_ has to die."

"Look, we could debate about this all day long till we die here Sarah, but if you're not going to use your weapon then you could at least just give it to me so it would help increase my chances of survival. Maybe you have a better weapon than my stupid flimsy knife."

"N-no…" she replied almost inaudibly.

"What did you say?" I asked a bit harshly.

"I said _no!_ I won't let you kill more people Cara. Each of our classmates has their own family that will be devastated once they know that they died. You've already broken _our_ family Cara and I won't let you do that to others as well." She said as she stepped back a bit.

"So what are you saying, Sarah? That I destroyed our family? Now you're _also_ blaming me for mom's death?" I replied, barely controlling my anger.

"Yes! If you hadn't been so pessimistic and violent then none of that would have happened. If you didn't pick a fight that day then she wouldn't have been in that road driving, waiting to get hit by that truck! Dad's right about you Cara. You were the one that killed mom!"

I was too blinded by my anger that I didn't even realize that my body lunged towards Sarah. A hundred different emotions swirled inside me as I slapped and punched my sister. There was my typical rage and anger. There was the hurt and betrayal, now that she finally admitted that she is siding with Carl on blaming mom's death on me but there's also relief and a bit of euphoria to it. All my pent up hatred and jealousy and bitterness towards my sister can now all go loose as I beat her up. I'm in control, commander and master, and there's no one that can stop me this time from taking justice into my own hands; no Mr. Gunner, no school principal and most certainly no Carl to tell me what I can and cannot do.

Suddenly, Sarah did something I didn't expect, she fought back and kicked me in the stomach. She quickly stood up and tried to run away but I then remembered my knife and I made a quick gash on her leg. She screamed out in pain as she stumbled down. I got up and stabbed her other leg so she wouldn't be able to move. I then stuffed the scarf she was wearing on her mouth so she would stop screaming for safety purposes, even though her cries of agony were _so_ entertaining. She stared at me with wide eyes full of fear as I pinned her down while holding the already bloody knife.

"You _do_ know Sarah that the pain you're feeling right now is entirely your fault." I said as I sliced her left arm, effectively making a nice trickle of warm blood.

She was still flailing a bit but the blood loss given by the three knife wounds was taking its toll on her. I might as well have some fun while my prey's alive. I sliced her left cheek, and then her right and I could tell that she was in a hell of a lot of pain right now.

"You deserve all this pain Sarah. You may think that I'm violent and heartless but you're way much worse. You're naïve and stupid and excessively spoiled. You never stood up to defend me whenever Carl went on his drunken rages. You probably enjoyed all those moments when I was clearly beaten up and suffering while you were sitting pretty in your make believe throne. Well, I think it's probably _my_ time to enjoy _your_ suffering." And with that, I stabbed her one more time in the stomach.

The scarf that I used to gag her was now turning red because of all of the blood that she should have coughed up. She was now paler than usual and the area we were lying on was now covered with a light pool of blood. I stood up and saw my sneakers were a bit stained, but it was fairly unrecognizable because of the shade of my sneakers (a dark shade of pink). I cleaned the army knife with some leaves and picked up my backpack to get some change of clothing.

Then an idea hit me. I picked up Sarah's backpack and took some of her fancier clothes. Since I still had plenty of time before the morning announcement, I could pose as goody-goody Sarah for a while and deceive one or two classmates of ours into believing that I'm Sarah. The moment I finished changing into a red shirt with some weird design and blue denim shorts, Sarah was no longer struggling with her life. The weird thing was, I didn't even feel an ounce of guilt on what I did to her. It felt _right_, like justice was finally served.

I took the food and water from my daypack and stuffed it into Sarah's daypack which had a badass hunting rifle in it. I also stuffed a few of my personal belongings into her backpack so that I wouldn't have to bring all four of the bags and I'd look more convincing as Sarah. When I was all geared up with my sheathed knife in my pocket, rifle in my left arm and bags on my right shoulder, for the first time since we were thrown out to this island, I finally felt that I could seriously win this program.

As I continued my walk through the forest, I remembered my checklist plan for the program: procuring a better weapon, checked, blindsiding my sister, checked. That only leaves finding Rivera and my favorite part of my plan.

Me, winning this Battle Royale.

* * *

><p>AN: So that's chapter 6. Honestly I think it's not a great chapter but I want to know what you think readers so pleas review!<p>

QOTC: Do you think that I should have not killed Sarah off? Because I've been debating with myself on that topic for a while…

And with that, Percival Jones is out. Peace!


	8. Tie Up

AN: Thank you for Oggytheogre321 and SadMaovie23 for your reviews! To my other readers, read their Battle Royale stories too because they're interesting and probably better than mine~

I also rewrote Chapter 1 to make it longer and to give more background to some of the other characters. About 900 words have been added so it's a worthwhile read, I think.

I also posted a link on my profile page that leads to the picture of the map for this Battle Royale. The artwork's not that great since I crammed it… I just did it to help you guys a bit on visualizing the area since I might mention landmarks from time to time.

Warning: This chapter is probably my least favorite one since it has loads of cuss words plus I think I didn't do justice on the persona I was trying to channel.

* * *

><p>Chapter 9: Tie Up<p>

**Vincent Thorne's POV (Boy #17)**

I left the classroom with a smirk on my face. All those bastards were freaking out because of the gunshots we heard a few minutes ago. Most of them were crying their eyeballs out like that perty faced Nessie. They prob'ly didn't notice that the gunshots didn't happen for Logan nor to the flat-boobed freak. Frankly, I don't give a fuck about Ashley dying because of the gunshots. Heck, I don't even care if Mitch or Erv, my supposed friends, were to share the same fate. We were now part of this damn hell hole and as far as I'm concerned, all my tie ups with my classmates are now gone.

I reached the exit and found the bitch's body sprawled on the floor drenched in her own pool of blood. Her hair was messy and her limbs draped awkwardly on her own body which made her look like a newly raped babe (trust me; I know what they look like.) Her daypack was gone so whoever the lucky bastard was who killed her prob'ly has it. I dashed through the woods to get some cover from the hallway's lighting just to be extra safe. I can't risk being a victim of some motherfucking classmate of mine playing this game and wind up as a littered corpse in the school grounds. The program has definitely started and everyone has their own plans and schemes to work out. Even I need to meet up with Sinch, my partner, as soon as possible. I passed her a note telling her to meet up at the northern most part of our coordinate. I just hope that that whore isn't enough of a dumb blonde to not figure that out…

I opened my daypack to see the shit load of stuff the government placed in our program goodie bags. It had the map and the compass that I was gonna need to track down Sinch. It had three one liter bottles of water with a 'please recycle' stamp on it, as if I give a fuck about recycling in a time like this. It also had some protein bars, a chunk of bread that looks and prob'ly tastes like cardboard and some canned goods like the good ol' American Spam. Then there were some other useless school crap and an old, cheap looking watch. But the biggest disappointment of all was the fucking random weapon I got in the bag. I was hoping that it contained a kickass assault rifle or at least a wicked spear since the pack was a bit heavy and was poking on both sides but apparently, our shitty program was in a goddamn recession. My supposed _spear _turned out to be a long curtain hanger with matching curtains to boot. The rod was made of metal but it would easily bend after one strike. The curtain was, well, a stupid fucking curtain. It was even in the same retarded shade of pink Sylvia was wearing. I wouldn't be surprised if this was actually stolen from her house. In short, the best I could do with my stinkin' weapon was to hit someone on the head with the stick then strangle him to death with the faggy fabric.

The moment Sylvia announced that we were going to be thrown into the program; I knew that I would participate in the killings. There were only a few things you could do in the program anyway. It's either you fight to survive, you hide or you try to escape. Technically, death's another option but who'll be stupid enough to choose that? There's no way I'll resort to hiding since cowardice is for fucking fags like that Franny kid. Besides, someone will eventually find you anyway and that will still result in killing. I doubt there's any chance of escaping since I find no flaw in the system. Then again, I'm not in any way smart enough to think of a fucking plan to get out of here. Maybe that geek, Kristian, can find a way to remove these annoying collars. The only question is why would he even help me when I beat the crap out of him in school from time to time? Even if I manage to find that dweeb and force him to remove my collar, I'll still be clueless as to whatever crap he's doing to my collar. He could fucking detonate it and I'll be none the wiser.

See, that's why the Battle Royale program is so damn effective. Trust. It's as simple as that.

I don't trust them. They don't trust me. So when we bump into each other, we'll blast each other's heads off with our badass guns. That's how this bloody game works every fucking time. They will never ever find a class where everyone fully trusts one another because that's just how high school works. Everyone backstabs one another to go higher on the social ladder. If you have a loser friend, embarrass the shit out of his pants in front of the whole school and you might just get a shot in popularity. In high school, everyone's out to get you and friendships change as quick as Facebook updates. And that same crappy principle applies here in the program. Erv and Mitch might be my homies back at school but now, they have every fucking right to kill me. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if Erv did. Out of our group, he's the only one who's murdered someone when he _accidentally_ pushed his mother down a flight of stairs in their apartment. The shithead covered his tracks amazingly, making the whole shebang look like a real accident.

* * *

><p>Apparently, two minutes have passed and out came the Bieber skank. She was trembling and crying as she made her way out of the school grounds, perfect prey for the V-man. She was clutching her daypack and backpack and she held her cell phone out for the flashlight function. I stealthily followed her, waiting for the right distance to strike her Bieber-filled head with my curtain rod so I can snatch her daypack away. Her phone's lights allowed me to follow her easily in the darkness of the woods. But then, shit happened.<p>

I stepped on some flimsy bit of tree roots and it fucking snapped, causing a _nice_ sound to spread in the quiet forest. Cel pointed her flashlight phone towards my direction before turning it off and running away. I tried to run after her but I only made more noise with my crappy overweight yet muscular body.

"Goddammit!"

I got myself a bit lost now in the woods so it was fucking useless to try and come back to the school for an easy kill. I slumped down the forest floor and brought out my pack of Luckies and my lighter from my personal backpack. I lit a stick and let the smoke course through my lungs a bit before exhaling a nice puff of smoke. Now that's _paradise _unlike that medical marijuana shit that Mitch smokes.

When the cigarette died down, effectively relaxing my nerves, I grabbed the map and the compass from the daypack and set to work on meeting up with Sinch. I carefully lit my lighter so that it wouldn't burn through the huge paper map. The map was so highly detailed that you could almost count the trees in an area. The school was marked in the D4 zone so I had to move towards D1. Each area was about 750 meters long so I had some midnight jogging to do.

I placed the map back in my pack which was fucking cluttered and stuffed because of the curtains. I debated on whether I should just leave the shitty rags in the forest but my resourceful self won over me. The curtains may be a crappy weapon to have but it's still a weapon nonetheless.

* * *

><p>In a matter of minutes, I was more or less sure that I was in the D3 area. Apparently, my whole stupid chase with Cel brought us somewhere near E3. I kept going north and tried to keep myself from making too much noise on the forest floor and that's when I heard some heavy ruffling of leaves nearby. My body tensed but I kept a tight hold on my long flimsy rod (no pun intended) and decided to find the source of the noise. It could have easily been a fucking useless squirrel but it could also be a stupid cowering classmate of mine just begging to be ambushed. People always told me that I was too impulsive and curious for my own good, but boy where those motherfuckers wrong. 'Cause right now, I think I just landed an early program jackpot. In front of me, sitting and hiding in the bushes was the freak himself, Enrique What's his name.<p>

He still didn't notice my presence since he was having one of his seizures, or as I call it: Freak Fits, once again. See, in my world, freaks like him shouldn't exist. They're fragile and as useless as a girl without a vagina. They'll always die early due to their _condition _making any of the crap you throw at them to make their lives significant, completely useless. You may give them all the fancy shmancy education and special benefits the world has to offer but in the end, they fucking can't work properly. They just take up space, use up our resources and annoy the hell out of the normal people just cause they're _special_. My folks had to learn that the hard way with my older brother Dennis. They tried to give him all those expensive medications and treatments but he still died before his nineteenth birthday. And what did that leave us? A shitty hell of a life since my parents, being the geniuses they are, used up all our money on him. I guess this is the universe conspiring to help me get some proper revenge.

I quickly grabbed his head from the bushes and yanked at his black shaggy hair. His shaking stopped and his eyes were suddenly filled with fear, perfect for the V-man.

"P-please don't hurt me, Vincent. Please!" he begged like the cowardly scum he is.

I dropped my curtain rod and he relieved a sigh. Just when he thought he was safe, I clenched my free hand into a fist and hit him squarely on his stomach. He lurched backwards a bit from the impact but I had a tight grip on his hair so he wouldn't stumble to the ground.

"Thought you were safe now, were you, you fucking freak!" I punched him in the face this time, connecting with his jaws. The punch was strong enough to prob'ly knock a couple of his teeth out.

"Wha a wuu ooin his oo me…" He garbled out while crying.

I didn't even try to understand what he said since it would just be a waste of my time so I punched him again in his body. This time, I most likely cracked some of the freak's ribs. I let go of his hair and he fell down on the forest floor. He was one pathetic looking lump on the floor now but I wasn't finished. I spat on his face and spread it around using the sole of my Reeboks. I crouched a bit to get my curtain rod and poked his slobbery head with it.

"Wake up, freak! It's still morning and V-man still wants to play with his toy." I said in a singsong manner.

The freak wouldn't budge but he was still breathing. He really was a wimp; already fainting after only three punches. I was tempted to kill him on the spot but where would all the fun be in killing a person who's not conscious enough to feel all the pain? I kicked his frail body a bit before that light bulb lit up above my head. The idea I got was pure genius. And as good ol' Mr. Bard always say in Science class, "good ideas should never be wasted".

I got the awful looking curtains out of my daypack and made a strong knot to tie the two fabrics together. Good thing I learned some advanced knots before getting kicked out of my boy scouts troop. I then grabbed the unconscious body of the freak by his legs, dragging him a bit on the forest floor. I tied him up to a nearby tree; the curtain being long enough to wrap him around thrice: By his torso, his hips and his feet. The knots were tight enough to have him hanging around for the whole duration of the games, or at least until the area became a Danger Zone. I took a great look at my masterpiece and named it the "Tied Up Freak".

I got his daypack that was still lying around by the bushes and opened it to steal his supplies and his weapon. Again, the government proved to me that we were on a miserable budget 'cause his assigned weapon turned out to be a chessboard. As if getting a checkmate out of my opponent will do anything in this game… I looted his food and water and transferred it to my now spacious daypack. I picked up all my stuff again, ready to make my way to D1. I lit one more cigarette for my trip ahead and made my way towards the pink piñata I made. I slapped his face a bit, making a trail of blood seep out of his mouth before puffing out a nice of cloud of smoke. At least he'll get a pleasant sniff of paradise before fading to his death.

* * *

><p>AN: So there you go… sorry for the late update but I had to change a lot of things in this chapter. For one thing, I originally planned on Vincent tying Enrique up in D4. That way, Enrique will get caught by the first Danger Zone. But I had a huge change of heart this weekend when we visited a center of some sorts that catered to people with various mental disorders like Autism, Cerebral Palsy and like Enrique, Tourette's syndrome. What an amazing coincidence, isn't it? So I can't push through with my original plan of writing Enrique out of the picture so early in the game. Those kids in the center were so precious that it really was a struggle to write something bad about someone with a mental disorder…<p>

And with that, I clearly announce that I am 100% in no way angry at people that go through their lives with these mental disorders. They're lives are already tough and people like Vincent only make their lives much, much harder.

Wow. Now I feel like some pastor teaching charity and stuff like that towards my readers. XD

Anyways, QOTC: I totally sucked writing this chapter, right?

Yeah I know… I appear like a person with self-esteem issues because of that…

And with that, Percival Jones is out. Peace!


	9. Wallflower

AN: Again, I apologize for the late update… I'll spare you the long list of things that happened to me that hindered my ability to update on time… (Basically involves getting sick, computer problems etc…)

I already apologize in advance for all the grammar errors in this chapter. Not all parts of this chapter has been beta'd…

Disclaimer: Battle Royale not mine, Lord of the Flies not mine, Percy Jackson not mine… blah blah blah…

* * *

><p>Chapter 8: Wallflower<p>

**Lily Long's POV (Girl #11)**

Time passes by really fast, doesn't it? I can't believe that just less than a year ago, my brother Wesley was still living in our house, tormenting me with his _big brother _ways. Now, he's in UCLA taking up a nice Arts program and he finally found himself a girlfriend. Then just last Christmas, my little brother Stanley finally persuaded our ma to buy him a pet turtle even though in Feng Shui, turtles slow down business. And me, well, just a few moments ago, I found myself being thrown into this abysmal world known as the Battle Royale program with my thirty-five other classmates (probably thirty-four now). Who knew that one day I'd find myself on the branches of a tree wearing a bulletproof vest that's several sizes bigger than my body? And to top it all off, I had to compete for my life in an island like a "Lord of the Flies" character, except that I'm a girl.

Oh, how I wish that I was just peacefully dreaming about this scenario in the school library, but a couple of pinches to my arms have already dissolved my plea. This is reality. Not some fictional novel that I get myself lost into during break times and bus rides. Just like Henry in the "Red Badge of Courage", I am now facing the biggest battle of my life.

It's really depressing that a peaceful night such as this will bear witness to the carnage brought by this year's program. The moon was in a nice crescent, almost as if it's smiling at us right now. And the stars were plentiful. The night sky was literally covered with them due to the lack of light pollution in the area. I could make out some of the constellations we discussed in Astronomy like Hercules, the Big Dipper and even some of those zodiac signs. I laughed a little, thinking about finding Zoë Nightshade's constellation. The one Lady Artemis made in memory of her fallen maiden. But a faint breeze brushed that thought away as I find myself out of the world of fiction again and back to the sad world of reality.

I decided to be productive and organize my pack instead of continuing my lollygagging. Carrying two packs was out of the question since that would only slow me down as Teacher Sylvia stated earlier. I had to transfer only the essential items from my own pack to the daypack the government supplied for us. I unzipped my backpack with the Scholastic Inc. logo on it (a prize I won in a book drive) and started sorting through my stuff. I chose to bring only two shirts and undergarments for changing, a hand towel in case of emergencies, some very necessary toiletries since it's my time of the month again, my first aid kit, my copy of "The Perks of being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky which I was rereading for the trip and my ma's homemade fortune cookies.

That's one of the few idiosyncrasies our family has. See, my ma deems my brothers and I to be too westernized already. So she sometimes goes over the edge to bring back some Chinese culture into our lives. She tried to teach us how to speak Cantonese which didn't go very well… There was also that one time when we were in the local mall. My ma saw a whole collection of Amy Tan novels and she purchased each one of them: "The Joy Luck Club", "The Kitchen God's Wife", "The Hundred Secret Senses", etc. She then made us read all of them which proved a delight for me but a _punishment _to my brothers. But her crème de la crème to placing Chinese back in Chinese-American was the food. She bought cookbooks specializing in Chinese cuisine and started visiting one of those grocery stores that are stocked with those rare ingredients in her recipes. She then started making her own fortune cookies and made it a small business. That led to us keeping this asinine tradition of eating one fortune cookie per day. It made my ma happy so I just tagged along and brought some cookies for the two-day trip.

Which reminds me, it's almost an hour after midnight so might as well enjoy the fortune cookie of the day.

I grabbed one of the three fortune cookies in the Ziploc bag and munched on it as quietly as humanly possible. It was delicious to say the least. Nice amounts of grounded almonds generously melded with the flour. My ma added a glaze of strawberry on one side and topped it with small multi colored marshmallows. Just the way I like it. I read the strip of paper filled with some of my ma's random fortune words of wisdom. This one said, "_Follow the path that life offers you. Let it be your guide." _I let those words sink in till I memorized them whole-heartedly. I wish that it made sense in my current situation, though. Right now, the path that life is offering me is to kill my classmates for my own survival.

Well all of them except for Thea, my designated partner.

The Schultz's were our neighbors so Thea and I have known each other for a long time. But that didn't add up to my knowing of her actual personality. We rarely talked at all since we live in different worlds. She's a pretty girl with talent above all others while I was the short, skinny girl pretending not to exist. She's confident in every way. I simply _am not_, end of conversation. She has a dream and she's living it, while _I _lay around reading one fictional story after the other, envious of the adventures the main characters have. Maybe that's why the program placed me here. They know that I'm a downright bum. Someone who wastes her life as a mere observer of what real life's supposed to be. Maybe that was the reason I got partnered with Thea as well. She's the dazzling star of the novel, the Don Quixote. She needed a sidekick that will obviously not outshine her, thus they turned me into her Sancho Panza. At least Thea's not a raving lunatic; a conceited, self-absorbed airhead, yes, but still not a lunatic.

Suddenly, I heard a startling shout nearby. It was definitely a voice from a girl classmate of mine. But I failed to recognize the owner of the shrill cry.

_She was probably in trouble for her to scream like that_, I thought.

The coward in me wanted to stay put and stick with my original plan which was to hide at all costs. But another part of me was screaming ideas I would have never entertained in my entire life. It was telling me to step down my tree, my sanctuary, and investigate that scream. Maybe all those Nancy Drew's I read while growing up were now influencing my decision. I looked at the stars one more time and at the tree that offered me temporary protection for the starting moments of the Program. As I carefully stepped down the branches, I had this terrible gut feeling that I wouldn't be seeing this tree again…

* * *

><p>It wasn't that much of a long walk from my tree when I heard another voice similar to the first one. It was clearly from Sarah and she was shouting from anger. I followed her voice with urgency and found that she was having a very spirited argument with her twin sister Cara, to say the least.<p>

"So what are you saying, Sarah? That I destroyed our family? Now you're also blaming me for mom's death?" Cara replied. I couldn't see her much but I could tell from her tone that she was very infuriated but more from hurt than annoyance.

"Yes! If you hadn't been so pessimistic and violent then none of that would have happened. If you didn't pick a fight that day then she wouldn't have been in that road driving, waiting to get hit by that truck! Dad's right about you Cara. You were the one that killed mom!"

And at that moment, all Hades went loose. Cara lunged at Sarah and started tugging her ginger locks. Then she started slapping and scratching at her sister's face and I just sat there by the bushes, watching their sibling rivalry unfold to its highest levels. Sarah then kicked Cara off her body and started getting up to flee. It would have been a successful escape if Cara failed to get up quickly and knock Sarah of her feet. A bloodcurdling scream escaped from Sarah's lips before Cara gagged her mouth. That's when I realized that Cara sliced through her twin's legs with the huge knife she was holding.

I paled (which didn't really do much with my complexion but that was beside the point). My mind kept on replaying the last few seconds that just passed. Cara just attacked her _sister_, her own flesh and blood, with a knife. And I just lay hidden there by the bushes, seeing one of the first few attacks of the game. All sense of heroism that I felt as I stepped down my tree were gone in an instant. All of my courage evaporated as I gazed at one of my classmates who was now turning into a would-be-killer in the Program.

I wanted to do something to help. I wanted to jump through the bushes with all the heroics I could muster and take out the knife Cara was holding. Maybe I could sneak up on her and then what? She could easily stab me like what she did to Sarah and that'd just make me another victim of Cara's madness. My vest wasn't stab-proof so my weapon was completely useless as of the moment. I picked up a nearby branch but it was too small and flimsy, kind of like me. I didn't even know what I was thinking when I picked it up. Maybe it was something along the lines of it turning into a wand so I could _Expelliarmus_ the knife out of Cara's grip.

My delusional rant was broken when Cara stood up and walked away from Sarah's body. There was probably a small pool of blood forming by Sarah's legs now and whichever places Cara took a fancy in slicing. She was still breathing but not for very much longer. She then tilted her head and suddenly her eyes met mine. Darkness still covered the night but I could see in her eyes all the pain and hurt she was feeling. She tried to move her jaw but her gag was secured tightly. But it didn't matter what she had to say because I already knew what she wanted to scream at me.

"_Why didn't you do anything?_"

I stared at her eyes feeling guiltier and guiltier as time passed by. I was a complete coward! I was satisfied with my life as a complete observer, hiding myself from others one book at a time. I was always too afraid to act, thinking that I would just mess up in the process. I was too afraid of being called a loser, or a runt, or a chink that I settled on being a nothing. I've always hidden myself from other people to the point where I became apathetic. I wanted to scream at myself for my stupidity but then I saw Sarah's eyes again. It was something that would haunt me forever if I ever manage to leave this island without being contained in a body bag. Her chest had stopped rising and at that moment; I knew that I was staring at the eyes of a corpse now. I was staring at the eyes of someone that I let get murdered in front of me.

Cara's footsteps broke my daze, making me look into her figure instead of the cadaver staring straight at me. Apparently, she had managed to change her blood drenched clothes with a new one. And she was now holding a rifle in her hands (probably Sarah's) instead of her own weapon. Probably to hide the fact that she was now a bloody murderer.

"_Like you're any different from her", _a voice said in my head.

Great. I was already losing my mind in the first few hours of the Program.

"_You could still win, you know",_ that voice whispered again.

And that's when the most treacherous and vile idea my mind has ever come up with, enveloped my thoughts.

"_Follow the path that life offers you. Let it be your guide." _

Cara was a certified murderer now and all I had to do was let her kill the competition away from me, she was my _guide_. Ma always told me that one should play with their strengths. Well, my strength is being a person that is very easy to ignore. I could just follow Cara throughout the Program and take her out when there's only a few of us left. How I'll take her out, I still had no idea, but it will come to my head eventually.

A big part of me wanted to feel guilty for all these despicable thoughts that littered my head, but the plan was solidified in my brain already. It was a giant spit on the grave to all the classmates that I would allow to be killed by my murderous accomplice. But that voice kept reassuring me that what I was doing was fair. I wanted to live and for that to happen, my classmates had to die. I was doing everything that I could do to survive. That's the path that life is offering me. There's no other option.

As Cara started walking away from the site of her recent slaughter, I stealthily followed her. I carefully blended in with the darkness and kept a safe distance from Cara; just enough to be able to track her without her acknowledging my presence.

"_This is it.",_ I told myself. I've officially thrown myself to the dark side.

* * *

><p>Cara kept walking through the dense forest. Where she was heading to, I had no idea. I didn't bother to check the map to get any clue on our current location. If I stopped now, I could lose track of her and that would ultimately ruin my plan. I just trusted her judgment and her bearings while I followed without questions.<p>

We probably walked for hours before she finally came to a halt. I was exhausted from all the walking and trekking. I never had to exert that much effort in my usual daily activities. I then heard a couple of sounds, footsteps. It wasn't that loud, but still fairly noticeable in the quiet of the night. I went a little bit away from Cara to scout on the potential threat that we, or should I say she, would be facing. The best part of the plan was that if she ever dies in an encounter, I could always just follow the person or persons that killed her.

I peered through one of the clumps of bushes and saw two guys walking side by side. One was holding a pretty big handgun while the other held a professional hockey stick. The guy with the gun was tall with a sort of spiky dirty blonde hair while his partner was almost half a foot shorter with a darker complexion and curly black hair. Simply put, I was staring at two-thirds of the basketball jocks in our class: their captain, Jake Anderson and their point guard, David Arias.

Suddenly, Cara shot out from where she was hiding and I thought a full blown gunfight was about to ensue. Instead, she kept on screaming David's name as she ran towards them and enveloped David in a tight hug. I wasn't really sure who was stunned more by this encounter, the jocks or me. But the turn of events actually amused me enough to put a smile in my face.

_Well__,__ this will be one very interesting morning._

* * *

><p>AN: There you go! You've met another character in the form of Lily Long! She's sort of a fusion between Sho and Yuko from the original novel. Tell me guys what you think about her or the chapter in general. Yeah, that'd be the question for the chapter.<p>

Also, a fair warning, the monsoon season has started here in the Philippines so I'll be expecting some loss of internet connection and some power outages so my updates would be unpredictable. (Which is sort of what I already have so this is old news~)

And with that, Percival Jones is out. Peace!


	10. Trampa

AN: So as you could see by the chapter title, the chapter will have its fair share of Spanish words. They will be simple ones though so you'd probably know it without a translator or you could always figure it out easily using context clues. But I've included a translation at my after chapter author's notes, upon SadMovie23's suggestion.

Now Battle Royale would never have its claim to fame without the ingenuity of the weapons. So one of my jobs as a Battle Royale writer is to keep this flame alive but I also want to place a dash of my originality into this fiction pot. Sure I'll still have some of the cliché weapons of Battle Royale like the bulletproof vest, the Uzi and maybe even the tracker somewhere out there but I'll also be introducing weapons that you probably haven't encountered in the fic world or if I'm lucky, weapons that you haven't even heard of. Some examples of that were Percy and his bayonet, Logan and his Sai sword and of course, Vincent and his creative use of the curtains. So this chapter won't be any different. I'll be introducing a weapon that's just begging to be used in the world of Battle Royale. So ladies and gentlemen, I introduce to you the next chapter of Battle Royale: Dual Fate.

* * *

><p>Chapter 9: Trampa<p>

**Lauren Garcia's POV (Girl #8)**

Saying that this situation is bad is the understatement of the millennia. My freaking classmates are starting to play this sick survival game all around me. I've already seen Percival hefting a bayonet on the school grounds in the first few minutes of the game, and that was definitely not a peaceful gesture. If the Program can break that good kid and turn him into a _diablo_ then what more can I expect from the less friendly teens? Then there were the gunshots just a while ago. Maybe those came from Percival after finding his intended target or it could have easily been another hostile classmate of mine. To top my _mala suerte_, I'm technically defenseless right now. Not a good thing if I want to win this year's Battle Royale.

After escaping Percival by the school grounds, I checked my own daypack for my own weapon. I was hoping for my own firearms so I could defend myself from my classmates who have gone _loco_. A neat alternative would be a simple melee weapon like a sickle like the ones I used when I was a child back in my Tia Esperanza's tobacco plantation in Mexico. Instead, what I got was a not so common firearm which was anything but simple, a nail gun.

I should probably be grateful for the weapon the government has given me but there's just one little problem. They forgot to pack the nails. I looked everywhere in my pack but came up with _nada_. All it contained were the water and food rations (which included an easy open can of Hereford Corned Beef… a total waste since I'm a vegetarian) and the other survival/school stuff Teacher Sylvia mentioned. I sifted through the bag one last time when I saw a weird pink thing sticking out of the provided tickler. It was a Post-it sticky note like the ones you usually see on corkboards and refrigerators so you won't forget stuff. I took out my cell phone so I could read the note properly and in it was instructions written in blue cursive, probably written by Teacher Sylvia herself. It says.

_Hello student! I am pleased to inform you that the item you seek that goes along with your government assigned weapon can be located at the General Store in Area B6. Good luck in the Program!_

_P.S. If I were you, I'd move quickly to the location I gave. _

The first thing that came to my mind when I read the note was "_es una trampa",_ a trap. Why would they even hide the ammunition of my weapon in the first place anyway? It was the only explanation.

But trap or no trap, I still need to get those nails. If I want to win this thing, then I can't stay defenseless for too long. I have to be the winner of this Program If I ever want to see my little _hijo _again. I can't let him grow up alone in this violent world where both of his parents became victims of the Battle Royale…

* * *

><p>It was a chilly September almost ten years ago, and my first year in high school had just started. The hallways of Brookhaven High were littered with kids who weren't too eager to start another year of academic desperation. The ceiling had a huge blue and gold banner hanging around with the words "Welcome to Brookhaven Freshmen!" and "Enjoy a great year of learning experience!" The place looked way better than my old school back in Mexico but the same social game still played out in the halls. And I was a freshman taking my first steps in America… <em>¡hurra<em>.

I managed to survive my first few classes just fine but the biggest hurdle still remained, lunch time in the cafeteria. The tables all around the hall were consumed by humanity. Skateboards and pompoms and heavy science textbooks interlocked as students tried to find their friends and their respective hangout tables. I luckily found an empty table at the far side of the cafeteria which I gladly took quickly. As I took my packed lunch out of my backpack, another student joined me at my table. He had long brown hair tied into a ponytail and he had a terrible case of acne. He was wearing a green shirt with the words "Cut Class Not Trees" printed on it, khaki pants that looked a bit loose on him and an old pair of sneakers. I recognized him as one of my classmates, but despite all the introductions we did for each class, I still didn't remember his name.

"What are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm in a cafeteria table with a tray filled with my lunch so obviously, I'm knitting." He replied with a smirk.

I tried to hide my annoyance at his sarcasm but apparently my scowling gave me away and he suddenly looked uncomfortable. He then extended his hand towards my direction.

"My name's Cedric Gabriel Truscott but everyone calls me Siege. You're Laura, right?"

"It's Lauren, actually and I'm not shaking your hand. God knows where you've been placing your dirty hand."

"Hey, I wash my hands before I eat and I don't make a habit of masturbating on campus." He said defensively.

If I was already in the middle of eating my lunch, I would have vomited it all out. Not the best way to spend my first day in school… But the guy in front of me, Cedric whatever, was just _repugnante_. I mean, who on earth would talk about such vulgar things on their first meeting? I glared at him and grabbed my bag, hoping that I could still find a table with sane people who talked about normal stuff. When he saw me get up, he quickly stood up as well and grabbed me by the arm. I almost slapped him if he didn't have such a cheerless expression in his face.

"Ummm… sorry 'bout that. I'm kinda weird when it comes to first meetings and making acquaintance and stuff… I get nervous and crack terrible jokes and yeah… hahaha…" He said awkwardly.

My anger and revulsion quickly drained away after what he said. He was just another freshman like me who felt awkward with the new surroundings. At least he had the guts to talk to me.

"It's fine. But please, no more vile jokes _por favor__. __En__tiendes_?" I replied, momentarily forgetting that I'm not supposed to speak in Spanish.

"_E__ntiendes _doesn't mean intestines, right?" He joked.

I lightly punched him on the arm before breaking out a smile, probably my first smile for the day, and sat back at _our_ table. I thought that I'd finally have a peaceful lunch time but Siege broke in again.

"What are you eating there, Lora?"

"I told you, the name's Lauren, _Gabriel._ And it's a spicy roast beef sandwich, why?"

He looked disgusted and I was pretty sure it wasn't because I called him Gabriel instead of his silly nickname.

"What's with the face, Gabby?" I chimed.

"Please don't call me that, _ever_. And aren't you, I dunno, concerned with what you're eating?"

I looked down at my sandwich to see what Gabriel was talking about but all I saw was nicely cooked roast beef placed between two healthy slices of wheat bread.

"It's just roast beef. It's not like there's a Mad Cow epidemic again."

"My point is, you're eating roast beef, which came from a bull, which is an animal. And it's a mammal to be exact, just like us."

"You're one to talk; you have a burger for lunch."

"The patty's made of tofu, genius. Amazingly, this school caters to vegans like me." He retorted smugly.

"Well good for you Siege, or Cedric or Gabriel or whatever but I'm happy with my roast beef."

"You know what? Call me Gabriel. The way you say it with your accent is nice." He flashed a smile which wasn't very appealing due to having ketchup and lettuce in his mouth. "And you know what else? How can you be so sure that you're eating beef? For all you know, that could be dog meat, or cat meat. Heck it could even be human meat."

I almost choked from what he said and I suddenly lost my appetite. The mere thought of my sandwich coming from dogs or cats or humans was just…. Ugggh. I tried to shoot daggers at him through my glare but he just ended up bursting into laughter. Then he snorted while laughing, which caused me to laugh at him. His cheeks were suddenly tinted pink but he quickly ignored his embarrassing moment and started laughing again. We were probably getting stares from the other students near us for our laughing fit but I actually didn't care. I was enjoying my first day of school with a guy I thought was a complete jackass.

* * *

><p>The days passed by and Gabriel and I became closer. Sure, we gained more friends from our batch mates, but our friendship remained strong. In fact, we became inseparable, which was both funny and annoying at the same time. Just the way I like it.<p>

Second year came and we still ended up as classmates. He became taller and his acne problem started fading. He also trimmed his hair short during the summer vacation giving him a whole new look that suited him. I even called him _guapo _out loud. Good thing he didn't understand what I said. The year also became generous to me as I sported a more defined body with the proper curves at the proper places. I was one hot Latina and the school started to notice that, present company included.

The Christmas season came and some of our friends hatched some nasty plot behind me and Gab's backs. They called us to school one Saturday afternoon for an "emergency meeting" for our Christmas Party's décor. What happened was they locked us in the janitor's closet and they wouldn't let us out till _something_ happened; whatever something was.

Gabriel and I stood there for some time alternating between pacing around and throwing cuss words at our immature friends. Then Gabriel noticed something hanging near the janitor's closet's lights; a mistletoe.

He cleared his throat and pointed towards the ceiling but my mind was still drawing blanks. He then leaned towards me and pressed our lips together. It was short but sweet, a perfect first kiss in my book. When he pulled away, a huge grin was covering his face as if he just won the lottery or he has gotten an A+ on Mrs. O'Donnell's Algebra exam. I wanted to be shocked by the turn of events but I was expecting this to happen. The only thing I disliked about it is that we had to face our friends outside as they said thing like "Duh? You're meant for each other!" or "It's about time!"

* * *

><p>Things pretty much flew fast after that. We had our share of dates. Sometimes we went to some fancy restaurants, sometimes to the simplicity of a Taco Bell drive thru. He started converting me into a vegetarian and I quickly adapted to the lifestyle. We reached our third year and even though we didn't end up as classmates that time around, we still remained as strong as ever. We went to junior prom together, got a bit drunk and lost our virginities at the back of his pickup truck after that. Our high school life was a wild and fun filled ride but it soon came barreling down towards a cliff.<p>

* * *

><p>I came to school one day expecting to see my loving hippie boyfriend waiting for me by his locker, just like a normal school day. Instead I found a small black ribbon tied to the lock of his locker. I then saw Lisa, one of our friends, pass by and asked her for the whereabouts of Gabriel. She was puffy-eyed so it was obvious that she had been crying recently. Maybe she and Donovan got into a fight again…<p>

"You too?" She asked as she started sobbing again.

I was about to ask her what she meant when the school's paging system blared to life.

"Students of Brookhaven High School, please proceed to the auditorium for an important announcement. First period classes are cancelled for this assembly." said the principal's secretary.

Lisa and I filed into the auditorium and I felt a great sense of dread filling me. We passed by a few more lockers and I found more black ribbons tied to some of them; Donovan's locker being one of them. We took seats near the front row as the principal reached the podium.

"Students, please be seated. We have some very grave and distressing news for all of you. Please settle down immediately."

Students continued to file into the auditorium. Some were ecstatic because of the cancellation of the first period classes but most of them where murmuring about what grave matter the principal had to say. Lisa's sob became louder and louder and people started to notice.

"Lisa, can you stop crying. People are starting to stare at you and you're making them worried. Why are you crying in the first place anyway?"

"Don't you get it Lauren?" She snapped, which surprised me a lot. She was always so passive and tranquil. "Donovan is missing. Gabriel is missing as well. And there are more of them. Have you seen Alex or Drew or Elaine today? How about their other classmates? The answer is _no,_ Lauren. Do you understand what I'm getting at? They've been taken for this year's Program!"

She screamed the last part out loud and suddenly all murmuring died. I waited for the principal to tell Lisa off and call her a _mentiroso_ but he just stood there by the podium looking highly uncomfortable. I felt like the sky had just fallen on my shoulders. My Gabriel was gone, taken away by the government and thrown into the Program. The principal started talking about the complete details of the event but my mind just tuned out everything. I quickly stood up from my chair and ran out of the auditorium. A couple of teachers tried to stop me and get me back to my chair but I just pushed them out of the way. Once I got out of the auditorium, the tears started making their way out of my eyes. Gab and I never did talk about the possibility that we could be part of the Program. The probability was just too small. But then again, a class still gets picked every year…

Despite everything that was happening, I still didn't want to believe that my Gabriel was just gone like that. Maybe I was just being Punk'd right now and Gabriel was just in his house laughing at the footage they're getting. If that was ever the case then I'd be the one to kill him myself for doing this.

* * *

><p>I reached his house and at first, nothing seemed wrong with the place. The lawn was still filled with their home grown vegetables and spices. His mom's canaries were still chirping in their cages. But then I opened their front door. Lying on the carpeted floor were Mr. and Mrs. Truscott. They were both lying on a pool of blood and their bodies were littered with bullet holes. Mr. Truscott's face was almost unrecognizable. His glasses were cracked and embedded in his skin, and it was caked with blood and something else… brain matter. Mrs. Truscott didn't look any better. Her once beautiful complexion was now pale from blood loss and her stomach was so torn by bullets that her innards could be seen. She looked like a half-open piñata. I had a sudden urge to vomit just like when Gabriel said the m-word on our first meeting but I thought better. Gabriel's parents were always nice to me and they were quick to understand when Gab and I told them that I got pregnant due to our first sexual encounter, something I haven't even said to my own parents. I was too stunned by the sight in front of me that I didn't notice a police force had dropped by the house as well. One of the female officers took me by the arm and led me to one of the police vehicles as the others set to work on the place. Some placed a "police line: do not cross" banner by the fence door while some brought body bags into the house.<p>

"You're not supposed to be here missy. You should be in your school. C'mon I'll drive you to Brookhaven." The policewoman said in a comforting voice.

"How do you know that I go to Brookhaven?'

"Woman's intuition, I guess. Those folks, the Truscotts, they got shot down by some higher operatives for attacking a personnel last night when they took umm… the Truscott's kid. Which I'm guessing is your friend."

"Boyfriend, actually…" I said in mid-tears.

"I'm sorry for that sweetheart. But there's nothing we can do about it. All we can do now is pray that your boyfriend gets out of the Program alive." She replied as if she was actually concerned for me.

I sat in the police car silently as the policewoman drove me back to school. She tried to comfort me more but I just sat there with my hands covering my face as I cried and got myself lost in thought.

There's no way that Gabriel can win that terrible game. He's such a peaceful guy. He can't even step on ants accidentally without feeling guilty about it. Killing would never be in his nature, especially if it involved our own batch mates. I just had to accept that Gabriel was gone in my life and I just have to wish that he dies a quick and painless death. Easier said than done…

The policewoman dropped me off my school and told me that everything was going to be alright. Though she clearly didn't believe that herself. Instead of going back to school, I ditched my classes and went to the park, where Gabriel and I almost always go. The park was sunny and beautiful today; Gabriel would have loved it completely. The birds chirped by the birdbaths and butterflies fluttered by the flower beds. I sat by our usual spot where we would have our picnics every weekend. Just being in this area tortured me with longing but the pain just felt right at the moment. I looked up and I could still see the etching we did on the tree last summer: A big heart with L & G in the middle. Gabriel didn't want to do it at first but a couple of kisses, a glare and a pout from me made him give in. I touched the tree trunk as I remembered all the good times we had in this place and all the good times we would never have again. And I just cried continuously like I have never cried before…

* * *

><p>One week slowly passed by and another commotion broke through the hallways of Brookhaven. Apparently the winner of the Program was back and that got my brain working again. I knew that I was just getting my hopes up but I still wanted to believe that somehow my<em> amante<em>, my Gabriel was alive.

Then I saw her by the school cafeteria, Elaine O'Leary, one of our friends, surrounded by a flock of students wanting to know what happened. She was crestfallen but she looked okay, not a single injury on her body. She saw me by the distance and called out my name. Everyone looked at me as I made my way towards Elaine. The moment I was in arms reach, she stood up, enveloped me in a big hug and muttered "I'm sorry".

She retold the whole story again as I sat next to her. My gut tying knots as I finally knew that Gabriel was dead. She told us that she teamed up with Drew, Alex and Gabriel at the start of the Program. Alex got shot early in the game and died of blood loss. Drew lost it afterwards and shot herself right at her temple, leaving her and Gabriel behind. Then they met Anthony, one of the jocks, who went crazy and attacked them with his chainsaw. She tried to fire at him but she kept missing since they were on the run. They thought they lost him after sometime but then they heard the buzzing sound of the chainsaw again but it was too late for Gabriel. Anthony cut a huge tree down which fell and crushed Gabriel, killing him instantly. Elaine grabbed hold of my hand and squeezed it to make sure I was okay. I _wasn't_. But at least I got my wish of Gabriel dying quickly, but being crushed by a tree was probably not painless. She continued her story but I already zoned out of the conversation. Nothing really mattered to me anymore...

* * *

><p>Maybe I was now at the point of clinical depression since I somehow lost the will to live or to care. My grades dropped drastically and my teachers really became concerned about my well being. A few days ago, Lisa got institutionalized because of her sudden fits of craziness. She kept on screaming for Donovan and once attacked Elaine in the hallways. I wondered when I'd reach that point of breakdown and get myself wound up in my own rubber room. I ate less and less but my stomach still grew bigger because of the baby, Gabriel's baby. My parents finally noticed it and started calling it a <em>problema<em>. My papa wanted nothing to do with it and wanted me to have an abortion. But I wouldn't have any of that _basura. _My child was my last connection to Gabriel and I wouldn't lose it for anything or anyone, not even for my parents.

I started to pick myself up from the ashes. I remembered one of the quotes Gabriel always said to me: "If your life is not worth living then find something worth living for". Every time he mentioned something wise like that, I just ended up looking at him funny and laughing. Now, I wonder how wise Gab really was underneath his statement shirts and joker attitude.

* * *

><p>When the school term ended, the labor pains started kicking in on me. Papa ignored my existence completely but mama still cared for me. She took me to a gynecologist to check up on my baby's health. The doctor told me that I had a healthy baby boy. The moment I got that news, I already knew what I'd name my little <em>niño<em>.

A few more months passed and my due date finally came. My mama held my hand as I went into labor. Whatever pain you have experienced in your lifetime, nothing compares to that of giving birth. I wanted to pass out because of the pain, but I fought it with all that I had. I wanted to see my little Gabriel come out into the world. In a couple of hours, Cedric Gabriel Garcia was wrapped in a fresh cloth and handed to my arms by one of the nurses. He had his father's eyes, green like the forest and his hair was in a dark shade of brown just like the earth. I fell asleep with him in my arms and I just felt like everything would be okay again…

* * *

><p>I was almost out of breath when I finally reached the general store in B6. It took me a long while to jog through the forest since I apparently went west when I moved out of the school; making me trek more distance to reach the old building. I felt uneasy as I opened the doors of the store. The door was unlocked and the store's lights flickered inside. I moved cautiously but no one was in the area. There were no army guys waiting for an ambush or classmates who have gone <em>loco<em>. I searched the area for my ammunition and snatched a couple of usable supplies as well (like a can of creamed corn and some beans).

Finally I saw it on display in a wall shelf near the store's cashbox. I picked up the box and found it filled to the brim with the sharp steel ammos. Each nail was about seven inches long and would probably really hurt like hell when it comes into contact with human flesh. Something I needed to do to my classmates so I could see my Gabriel again.

I was about to head out of the store when another figure entered through the door. He was a black haired guy with eyes that looked like it had fires dancing in them. He had a wicked grin that was really feral, almost like a wolf's. But the thing that really scared me was the _palo_ that the guy was holding: a long pole with a circular blade at the tip; it was a weed whacker.

Before I was able to fire off any of my newly acquired nails, Ervin Gunner ran towards me and he was prepared to attack.

* * *

><p>AN: So there's chapter 9! The class suspension gave me some time to write this so I updated early. Originally, I planned to have the fight between Lauren and Ervin to take place in this chapter but the back story was longer than I expected. So I cut the chapter to the moment they met in the store.<p>

Spanish to English translations

_Diablo _- demon

_mala suerte _– bad luck

_loco_ - crazy

_nada _- nothing

_hijo_ - son

_¡hurra_ - hurray

_Repugnante _- disgusting

_por favor_ - please

_En__tiendes_? - Do you understand?

_Guapo - _handsome

_Mentiroso - _liar

_Amante - _lover

_Problema – _problem (duh)

_Basura – _garbage

_Niño_ - son

_Palo _- pole

QOTC: What would you like to happen in the tenth chapter? Here are the choices: A.) I continue this chapter. B.) I go back to Enrique or C.) I introduce more characters. I'm leaning towards either B or C so I can have a nice cliffie.

Oh and lovely readers, I'd really appreciate a review! I personally like this chapter but you're my judges so I wanna hear from you guys.

Also, I added something to my profile page. A Battle Royale: Dual Fate Board with the map as I had posted on an earlier chapter and a "get to know the characters" area. So that you won't forget the contestants since that's one of the problems in this kind of fics.

And with that, Percival Jones is out. Peace!


	11. Hero Support

AN: Hmmmm originally, this was supposed to be a short, filler-ish chapter but it ended up like this… I dunno why (It's still filler-ish though). The chapter will reveal something that's quite important in the story, more or less. I also made this one a bit comical since the last chapter was too serious. And the next one will be…. Yeah…

So, I'll be mentioning Sky High in this chapter. It's a really nice and cute film. And it didn't hurt that Danielle Panabaker was absolutely gorgeous there~

* * *

><p>Chapter 10: Hero Support<p>

**Enrique Sanchez's POV (Boy #15)**

I woke up at around six in the morning with a bad case of anxiety. There was a bit of excitement in there too, but more or less it was pure anxiety. I mean, who wouldn't feel the nerves take over their body when the first day of high school was about to start? But that wasn't half of the picture. The real reason behind my fretting was the school itself; it was none other than Sky High.

* * *

><p>I knew from an early age that I was special. I always felt a strange connection to all those comic books I collected as a child. As if I was destined for greatness as well. My parents always treated me as something special too. They always told me that one day I'd make a difference in the world, make it a better place ; basically the whole shebang that parents tell you to make you feel better. I never really believed those words that much but I can't help thinking of what my life would be like if I turned out to be the President of the United States or maybe a well-renowned movie star when I grow up. But never did I expect my wildest fantasy to come true.<p>

I had these weird tics all throughout my childhood, even up till now, so I was pretty much considered weird by my peers. Some say _special _to be politically correct but I still knew what they called me behind my back: Weirdo, Freak, Retarded, Nutcase, Oddball, and even Mutant which is something I actually like being called. But as a kid, hearing those words being thrown at you was still one big culture shock. I'd always run into my parents' comforting arms because I know that they'd always make me feel better.

Dad is very big and muscular which always made me wonder before why I was always so flimsy and weak. He has a temper and it always flared up whenever someone said or did anything bad to me. He may be intimidating to most people but I know how kind-hearted and pleasant he truly is. Mom compliments dad perfectly. She's always nice and sweet to everyone but she can get very defensive and well, motherly, whenever I get ridiculed by someone. I remember this one time, when she went to school because a bully kept on wedgie-ing me. She was so aggravated when she made her way to the principal's office that every step she took felt like a miniature earthquake. In short, my parents are both wickedly awesome and I sadly broke that streak of perfection…

My parents took me out of that school and started home schooling me for quite some time. It was fun learning stuff when mom was my teacher. It was never scary, difficult or boring and there wasn't any pressure in being teased for making mistakes. In fact, it felt like the first time I truly enjoyed learning about something. But of course, mom still had her work and mom duties so I always got an early dismissal. And that's when things got interesting.

* * *

><p>I had plenty of free time for myself and video games can only get you so far away from boredom. And the television shows were only filled with numerous reruns. Even re-watching the Justice League had somehow lost its touch. I lay down on my bed just gazing at my posters for the millionth time. I wished that, by some weird cosmic power, my posters would come to life and I could see Batman punching the heck out of Joker or Red Tornado blowing away some criminals. Then I felt some weird vibrations. At first, I thought I was having my tics again but I held up my hands and I was perfectly normal. But the shaking kept on continuing. The next logical option was an earthquake so I got up from my bed to reach my mom downstairs. But the moment I stepped on my room's tiled floor, the shaking abruptly stopped. Bewildered wouldn't even describe what I felt at that moment, but I was pretty damn sure that the bed was shaking just a few moments ago. I looked underneath my bed for anything but the bed sheets and comforter were draping down, obscuring the view. I pushed them onto my bed but I was just rewarded with the clutter I stored underneath it. It was just filled with random comic books, some candy bar wrappers, my school's old books and my broken skateboard, all of which were not even close to some sort of bed shaker. I kicked my bed out of frustration but I didn't expect what happened next. The bed shook violently and cracked into two, right on the spot where I kicked it.<p>

"Enrique, what happened to your bed?" My mom asked, appearing out of nowhere.

I explained everything no matter how unbelievable the story may have sounded. I even told her that I just stored all my trash under the bed instead of properly cleaning my room. I was expecting her to get angry at me for disturbing her, and telling silly stories and trashing the bed and a hundred other reasons but all she did was get her cell phone and call my dad. That's when I knew that whatever happened was serious. If dad was coming home earlier from work because of this then I must seriously be in great trouble.

* * *

><p>I was sitting by the living room couch with my mom beside me when dad burst into the house. At first, I thought he was going to punch me or something but then he bear hugged me and lifted me out of the couch.<p>

"My boy has super strength Linda! My boy has super strength!" My dad bellowed. I don't know what he was talking about because I was too distracted being squeezed to death by my old man and seeing our front door by the floor, completely unhinged.

"You took down the door again, Mateo! And for your information, Enrique also has seismic manipulation. And he used it first." My mom countered and that just made me more confused than ever.

"Can someone _please_ tell me what's going on?" I asked. "And can you put me down dad? I'm feeling queasy…"

"Sorry, your old man just got a little excited. My boy has super strength!" Dad exclaimed once more.

"Mateo, could you please calm down already? You're more excited than the kid who got his superpowers." Mom replied.

"What? Superpowers?" I stared at my mom like she just grew another head.

"Yes dear, superpowers. You're destined for greatness, remember? Not a lot of kids are born between two hero lines. The only other ones I know are the Strongholds and the demented Peace family, so you're pretty unique, Enrique." She said as she leaned and kissed me on the forehead.

"So… what happened back there in my room, to my bed… that was me?"

"Of course, what else could it be, son? You lightly kicked your bed and it shattered! I remember doing that myself when I was a little tyke."

"And the shaking of you bed, that's you seismic powers. You got it from me." Mom added as she made the house rumble for quite some time, making dad fall down on the floor. "See, Enrique. It's a much better power than punching and kicking stuff."

"Cool! How did we get these powers? Did we get bitten by a radioactive spider or get hit by tons of gamma rays or something? Oooh or are we some secret aliens?" I babbled in glee. I have superpowers! I have the generic super strength just like Superman and I have earthquake abilities just like Avalanche from X-Men Evolution! I'm powerful; way more powerful than the jerks in my old school.

"I know that look Enrique." My mom said sternly. "We can only use our problems whenever it's necessary. 'With great power comes great responsibility', right?"

"But you used your power to show off and knock dad to the ground."

"Yeah, Linda, you're such a show off sometimes." My dad said as he got up from the floor, still quite shaken.

"But you still love me anyway." Mom replied as she kissed dad on the lips.

"Umm… Hello? Your son is still in the room you know… Could you please have your gross adult time later, like much later?"

My mom broke the kiss and even though I say that it grossed me out and all, I actually see my parents as a cute couple. They still act like a teenage couple in their honeymoon stage. And they've been married for almost fifteen years. Mom extended her arms to me and I knew that she wanted a group family hug. I hugged them both and to surprise them, I lifted them up using my newly found powers.

Everything was nice and dandy till my mom told me that I had to go back to school. I was having too much fun with home school and I wasn't too enthusiastic to see my old classmates. If I ever get a surprise wedgie again, I might accidentally use my powers against them. And that would have totally ruined the hero code. But my mom had other plans for my schooling…

* * *

><p>And that leads me back to where I am now, fretting over what to wear for my first day of schooling in Sky High.<p>

I was basically all over our house as I got ready for school. Maybe I was just being foolish but I try to take first impressions quite seriously. My mom always told me that first impressions never last, but they always matter. And I took that thought to heart. There's no way I'll settle to being the school loser again especially with my super cool powers.

Mom wished me luck as I walked out of the house and to the nearest bus stop. It's strange that an academy for superheroes still settled for the conventional school bus. I always thought that it would be something much cooler like a teleporter or a wicked space shuttle. The yellow school bus came to a halt precisely in front of me. The bus door slid open and a perky middle aged man, the bus driver, greeted me as I climbed aboard.

"Good morning freshman! I'm Ron Wilson, bus driver! There are still a couple of empty seats out back."He then leaned towards me and whispered something else. "Just don't take the seat beside Warren's, the guy in black. He's kind of a hot head."

I made my way down the aisle and saw an empty seat next to an African American girl in a pastel pink and green dress. She looked normal compared to the other students in the bus which included a guy with white hair who claims to glow as his power and a completely nerdy looking kid with thick glasses and a weird orange sweater vest. I took the seat next to her momentarily forgetting to ask if the seat was taken. I was about to stand up when she spoke.

"It's alright. No one's sitting there." She said softly. A small, demure smile was visible on her face and it made her look cute, or actually, _cuter_.

Of course, I did the natural cool dude reaction when meeting a cute girl. I completely stared at her and blanked out. Classic.

"Are you okay? Are you reading my mind or something? Oh my gosh, please don't tell me that that's your power?" She said with a slight panic in her tone.

"Oh, no, sorry about -that, just b-blanked out and all." I didn't even notice that I was shaking the chair we were sitting at.

"Oh, so your power is shaking things up? That's cool." I wasn't sure if that was a sincere compliment or that was sarcasm. I chose the former since she didn't look like the sarcastic type.

"Yeah, I also have a slight case of super strength. What's yours?"

She looked uncomfortable but ended up getting something from her backpack, a crumpled piece of paper. The paper started transforming and within seconds, it turned into a chocolate cupcake, complete with icing.

"Yeah, I have a lame power. I'll obviously end up as a sidekick; probably partnered up with a very fat and hungry hero."

"Are you kidding me? That's awesome! You could like solve world hunger or something!" I replied with much enthusiasm. I mean, who wouldn't be fascinated with a person with that kind of powers?

"Thanks, I never thought of it that way. You can have it if you want. It's edible and all but my powers are still pretty much weird."

I took her cupcake and eagerly bit into it. Instead of the sugar rush that I expected, my taste buds were greeted by a weird mixture of saltiness and sourness. My face must have confirmed her thoughts and she let out a sigh.

"I told you my powers were weird. I couldn't even get the proper flavor into the food. Last week, I made a bunch of cookies for my friends but they tasted like hot sauce."

"Hey, it's alright. You'll master your powers soon." I said reassuringly but I still threw her cupcake in my pack's trash bag. "Oh, I almost forgot! My name is Enrique."

"Rachelle Dawson; and you better strap yourself in." She replied as she secured her seatbelt which looked like a mixture of an airplane's and a rollercoaster's.

I was about to ask what for when I felt the bus accelerate abnormally. Then I felt a tugging sensation in my stomach and got plastered to my chair as the bus climbed to the sky.

* * *

><p>We arrived in school in one piece, <em>thankfully<em>, and we started our tour of Sky High. It was a normal, generic tour this time. We saw the lecture halls, the mad science lab, the cafeteria and finally the gym where we would get our hero sorting done.

Coach Boomer, who led our tour throughout the school, was also the one in charge of testing our powers and deciding whether we were fit to be a hero or a sidekick. When I heard testing, I thought of an interview of some sort. I wasn't expecting him to throw a car at us and we had to use our powers to stop it or something.

One by one, my classmates showed off their powers. And one by one, Coach Boomer either congratulated them for their awesome hero level powers or screamed at them for having a lame sidekick power. Glow boy just stood there all weird looking and there was one guy who failed to show off any of his powers at all. Rachelle was no better. She just dodged the car and tried to turn it into a cake or something. She almost passed out after she finished turning the side view mirror into a chocolate bar.

My moment finally came and I was dead nervous. I stepped up the podium preparing for my moment of glory. The car fell down from the gym's ceiling and I extended my arms to catch it. My arms were greeted by an intense pain and that pain just kept on travelling throughout my whole body. I crumpled under the weight as every muscle and bone in my body felt like it caught fire. Coach Boomer was booming out the word 'sidekick' as I was about to pass out from the pain. But the nightmare just continued…

* * *

><p>I finally woke up, to the <em>real<em> reality. I would have laughed at the crazy _Inception _moment if I wasn't feeling like shit right now. My mouth was terribly bleeding because of the several teeth that Vincent had dislodged and my body was bruised up from the beating. It hurts likes hell but thank God, none of my bones felt broken. I tried to move my arms to untie my bindings but Vincent had really knotted me firmly. Guess all I could really do now is hang around and wait for my death…

I thought about my dream which turned out to be more of a nightmare. I've been having that same dream ever since I watched Sky High and I just never got over it. It was my only escape from the world who always thought that I was nobody, or even worse, a freak. Maybe if my disorder turned into my dream power then I could have the respect that I rightfully deserved. Maybe I would have been able to join the basketball team and Greg would stop picking on me. Maybe I'd be popular and Ashley would stop harassing me and calling me harsh names. And most importantly, Vincent wouldn't have beaten me up every single time… including now. If I had those powers, that alternate life that I've always dreamed for, then I could easily defeat this Program and shove it down the government's face. Heck, I wouldn't even be enrolled at Northridge if my powers and Sky High did exist.

Then my thoughts drifted to Rachelle, my partner here in this demented game. She has been my friend all throughout high school and I'd be stupid if I never had feelings for her. She's always so kind to everyone and I'm pretty sure that she could have been a popular girl in school if she didn't hang out with me all the time. I always felt like I dragged her down but she kept on insisting that she would never replace me for anyone else. That's another thing I like about her. She was always thinking about others rather than herself. She deserves a better future than any one of us. She doesn't deserve to be included here in the Program. If only I could get down from this tree then I'll find her and protect her and keep her away from death's door. She needs to win this, she deserves it…

I kept on squirming within my bindings but it was no use. It was too tight and I just ended up hurting myself from the struggle. My ribs weren't broken but the bruises still caused a lot of pain. I was thinking of a new tactic to get away from this when I heard a distinct sound near me, the rustling of bushes.

My first instinct told me that it was probably Vincent, back from his little trip so he could finish me off. But a new face greeted me in the semi-darkness. It was Justin Cowan and he was holding a gun. I was ready to pray out my last will and testament but he didn't fire at me. Instead, he went around the tree trunk and I felt the curtains slowly loosening up.

"Are you okay? Who did this to you?" He asked as he finally removed my bindings. I fell back to the ground but he managed to catch me. It was probably easy since he was a pretty big guy and I was as frail as a twig.

"Um ayn. Henks." I mumbled.

I spat out a thick amount of blood from my mouth accompanied by a couple of my teeth. It was mighty painful but it did help me talk better.

"It was Vincent who did this. He's playing. I don't know why he didn't finish me off though." I continued with a bit of a pang in my mouth.

"Well, be thankful that he didn't. At least you're just bruised up, Ashley's already dead right on the school grounds." He replied.

"Yeah I know… I was there when it happened. Allan did it. He's playing too. He's out for revenge, that's for sure. I couldn't stop him…" I felt guilty as I remembered that event. How I failed to stop Allan and save Ashley. I wasn't worthy of being a hero.

"Hey, you probably tried to stop him, right? Don't punish yourself for this. Allan's the one that should feel the remorse." He smiled slightly. It was probably the first time I actually saw him smile and it just felt so out of character. He was always a loner in class that it's hard to take in the comforting side he's showing off right now.

"Sorry if it sounds rude and all, but why are you helping me? I expected you to kill me the moment I saw you holding that gun."

"Yeah, guess that's my fault. I'm not really mister sociable. No one really bothered to talk to me so I just stayed that way. You don't have to trust me. You could walk away right now if you want to. And I promise that I won't shoot you. We already have two people playing the game and I'm not interested to add another one."

He looked sincere enough at what he said so a part of me wanted to trust him. And he did help me down the tree. But I wasn't entirely convinced. He could just be using me as a human shield or something. But I didn't really have much of a choice. He had the gun and I was practically defenseless. I might as well ally with him for the mean time till I find Rachelle. For the mean time, he was the hero and I was his sidekick.

"It's cool, man. I trust you. So, allies?" I said as I extended my hand for a handshake.

He was about to shake my hand when we caught sight of a weird glow from a distance. A billow of black smoke accompanied the eerie, bright glow which could only mean one thing: Fire.

"I think we have to move out. If that fire gets any bigger, it might cause a forest fire. I'm just hoping the government's not sick enough to give someone a flamethrower for a weapon." Vincent said.

I just nodded as we gathered our stuff. Well, at least what was left of mine. Apparently, Vincent had a little looting spree while I was tied up. We slowly moved away from the faint glow created by the fire. I was still pretty beaten up so Justin sort of assisted me as we navigated through the forest.

* * *

><p>We walked for quite some time in complete silence. The fire's glow was gone so we luckily avoided a brutal forest fire. We finally reached some sort of clearing so we could rest for a bit. Mainly because my bruises were really giving me problems and my Tourette's was acting up again. We sat side by side as he finally broke the silence.<p>

"Oh yeah, who's your partner? Maybe we can luckily find him or her." He inquired.

"Rachelle. Rachelle Dawson. She left the school after you."

"Yeah… I remember her. She was still pretty shaken up after I left. Hey, maybe we'll see her around. Is she your girlfriend or something?"

I probably blushed because his grin grew bigger and he lightly cackled.

"Stop that. We're just friends and stuff… Anyway, who's yours?"

"Chloe Fitzhugh, the last girl to leave."

"Oh, is she your girlfriend?" I teased back.

"She's not my girlfriend. That would be like a mortal sin or something." He replied as he averted his gaze somewhere else. And that left me thinking. What does he mean by _mortal sin_ anyway?

"Who's Chloe to you then?" I asked out of intrigue.

"It's complicated." He replied in all his mystery. I just kept my glare on him and his façade crumbled. He sighed as he finally replied. And shock wasn't enough to describe what I felt.

"It's complicated because… well… Chloe's my sister."

* * *

><p>AN: So sorry for the big delay. Exams, province trips with no internet, org related stress etc.<p>

QOTC: Who do you think has a flamethrower for a weapon? XD Isn't that awesome? I just love playing with perspectives~

Additional QOTC: Has anyone watched Harry Potter 7.2? T.T I freaking cried all throughout the movie…

Hmmmm so I rate this chapter as a 2.3/5 since not a lot of things happened and it really was quite filler-ish. Also, I think I failed in the Chloe is his sister part… I originally planned on revealing that bit on information much later in the story. But since I spared Enrique's life, I needed someone to free him or something. And the only option was Justin. Hopefully my gamble will pay off soon.

Next chapter, we'll see the events that took place before the fire happened. Hopefully I get to update before the moth ends but no promises. I injured my right arm due to wake boarding so I'm struggling to type in the keyboard… (Even right now…) so yeah~

And with that, Percival Jones is out. Peace!


	12. Man's World

Hello again readers, it's been quite some time since a real update has been published. Hopefully you're not mad at me or something…

Anyway, this chapter will feature the continuation of chapter nine (Lauren's narration) but this time, from Ervin's point of view. Oh and expect some gore and a death or two. I'll try my best to make it graphic but I might fail you so don't place your expectations too high.

* * *

><p>Chapter 11: Man's World<p>

**Ervin Gunner's POV (Boy #7)**

"Mr. Ervin Gunner, please stand up and get your packs up front now. Time's a ticking. We don't want to be off schedule."

I sat there and ignored the bitch's announcement. There's no way in hell that I'm going to be told what to do by some ill-dressed slut. I glared at her and she started to look uncomfortable. And as expected from a weak woman like her, she turned to one of the _male_ soldiers for help.

Horace, the main soldier of the group, readied his assault rifle and pointed the gun's barrel at me. He had a cocky smile plastered on his face as if he was telling me that he could easily blow my head into smithereens if he wanted to. I smiled back at him as I got up and walked to the front to claim my packs. Sylvia was eyeing me with curiosity which annoyed the hell out of me.

As I picked up my assigned daypack, the bitch suddenly piped in a snide remark.

"Don't get too rebellious, pumpkin. It won't do you favors. Good thing ol' Horace here's not too excited for victims."

My logical side told me to just let it slide _for now_ but my angry side just wanted to pick a fight. And as usual, my anger got the best of me, and I snapped back at her.

"First of all, stop wasting your breath on me because I don't give a shit about whatever yapping comes out from your pie hole. Next, you have no right to be all cheery in your position. You're just a spineless bitch who needs to be saved by 'good ol' Horace' here. Without him and the rest of his crew, you'd probably be dead right now. And lastly, pray to whatever deity you believe in now that I won't win this program. Because when I win, I'm going to hunt you down. And I'm going to torture you and tear you apart, limb by limb, till you beg for death. Do you understand me?"

She was stunned and horrorstruck to say the least but her terror quickly turned to anger as she raced her hand, poised to slap me in the face. I was ready to counter her the moment she makes contact but 'good ol' Horace' stopped her.

"Ma'am, I think that we should proceed with the schedule already and leave the hostility to the participants."

She hesitated for a bit but she agreed nonetheless to Horace's suggestion. Of course she would. She's just another stupid woman who needs a man to tell her what to do; just another useless tool in the world.

I gathered all my stuff and made my way to the door, stopping a bit as I passed Horace.

"If I die, kill her for me, would you?" I whispered.

I didn't wait for any response from him as I left the classroom; leaving Chloe there all alone with only Horace, the other soldiers and that cunt, Sylvia, for company.

* * *

><p>The school exit smelled of blood because of Ashley's body draped by the steps, stinking up the place. Instead of skirting around her body to avoid slipping because of her blood, I used her cadaver as a makeshift bridge. Call it poetic justice since she stepped on a lot of people as she climbed the school's social ladder. Her body was squishy and flimsy and I probably broke one of her bones due to the pressure but I didn't give a damn. It wasn't really adding insult to injury since she was long dead anyway.<p>

I made my way to the woods to check on my assigned weapon that would help me win this program. It was probably an excellent one since it was heavy and it poked through the daypack. Inside were two large poles connected to one another: one contained some sort of handle and gas container while the other held a circular blade. It didn't take a genius to figure out that it was a portable grass cutter.

I took it off the pack and turned it into its full form. More than three feet of hard metal with a sharp cutting end to boot. It was no chainsaw but it would do its job. I turned it on but the blades failed to whirl into life. I tried again but to no avail. Frustration got the best of me as I hit the nearest tree with the weed whacker. And that's when I saw a small, bright colored paper fall down from the metal pole. I picked it up leisurely and was greeted by some instructions. It was written in a very annoying, cursive penmanship and the paper was even scented, clearly the work of some deranged woman like Sylvia. It read:

_Hello student! I am pleased to inform you that the item you seek that goes along with your government assigned weapon can be located at the General Store in Area B6. Good luck in the Program!_

_P.S. If I were you, I'd move there quickly._

"Item you seek?" I asked myself. I checked my weapon once again and that's when I noticed the problem: The grass cutter runs on gasoline and the fucking gas tank is drained.

Whatever plan I had on killing Chloe off as she exits the school was dismantled. And right on cue, the little blonde ditz started walking out of the classroom, struggling with her carry-on baggage. She was holding some sort of device in her hand which I guessed was her weapon. Seeing that it didn't look particularly deadly, I started to stealthily move towards her direction. My weed whacker may not be capable of cutting and tearing at the moment but it's still a decent melee weapon.

But I didn't expect what happened next.

She picked up a random rock on the ground and hurled it towards my direction; hitting me squarely on the head. She then made a dash towards another direction as I nursed my head injury. I was highly tempted to follow her and make her pay but I had more important things to take care of. For one thing, the school area is about to turn into a danger zone in a few minutes. Then, there's the issue with my weapon. I had to get to that general store as soon as possible. So I started running through the dense forest of this fucked up island.

* * *

><p>I was panting heavily when I reached what I estimated to be B-5. The area had a more visible trail of dirt than the forest since there were a few houses littered in the area. Running across a forest was not one of my greatest ideas. I lost count how many times I tripped on bits of exposed tree root and there was even that stupid moment when I collided with a tree. To summarize, I had cuts all over my face and body and I was also sporting a great amount of bruises. The worst one was still the rock that little miss ditzy threw at my head though. How she knew that I was there was still circulating in my mind; along with the possibility of suffering brain hemorrhage. My short black hair was stained with my own blood and it was all because of that stupid bitch and her stupid attempt on attacking me. I swear that the next time I see that ditz; I'm going to slice her scalp off with my grass cutter. That is, of course, after stoning her for quite some time. And that's going to be my plan for each of the whores that tainted our classroom.<p>

All the people in school always describe me as a cruel and violent person, especially towards women. But to me, I'm just keeping it real. Those are my beliefs and nothing's going to change that. I'm an easy to anger person, that's how I'm built. So shit happens to those who cross me. And well women, of all forms, tend to cross me one way or another. They're just rotten bitches with demented tricks to make men's lives more complicated and miserable.

It's just evident everywhere you go. From a Christians' perspective (not that I'm practicing it or anything), women are the source of the original sin: Eve and her stupidity to eat the apple of knowledge or something like that. She ruined everything for Adam and all their children. And looking back to the timeline of creation, Eve existed a few days after Adam. She was just another bitch for Adam to take care of, as if he didn't have enough worries on his plate. If we look at a mythological perspective, we can see that women are commonly the damsels in distress who gets heroes into trouble. If they aren't one, then they're either portrayed as evil witches or really, really stupid villainesses. Look at Pandora and her famous box. It was her stupidity that released all those negative things into the world. Medea and Circe were no different; they just kept on working their evil magic on everyone till they were put to death by the heroes.

Fiction aside, women are still divided into the same two groups: stupid whores who'll never amount to anything except as an added bother to men or bitches who only seek attention and cause chaos for the heck of it. Chloe and Sylvia are examples of the first one. They're just stupid tools who lay around society being all crappy and clueless, only doing anything when they're instructed to. Ashley on the other hand is of the other group. She's a social climbing gossip who ruins everybody (including her friends once in a while) just so she can feel good about herself. She-devils like her deserve all the torture they can get in these games. A quick death via gunshot doesn't cut it. Women like her don't deserve the easy way to death. Just like my mother...

* * *

><p>To call my mother a foul beast is like saying that the World War II was a bad event. Simple adjectives cannot truly describe their atrocities. She was vile, ruthless, physically and verbally abusive, mad and a lot of other nasty things. I could go over a complete thesaurus and list down all the negative traits I could find and it still wouldn't be enough to describe her. She's just <em>her<em>.

My first proper memory of her was the time I slipped and scratched my knee on a pathway's concrete road back when I was three years old. Instead of the maternal comfort that one might expect, she just continued to drag me along since she was in a hurry to her _appointment_. As I grew up, I found out that those appointments were just her stupid gambling sessions. Another vivid memory of mine involving her was back when I was six years old. I was making an abstract drawing like the ones that dad taught me (dad was an Art teacher). I still remember the exact words she said since I asked dad what 'shit' meant the moment he arrived home. She said:

"You call that piece of shit, Art? Only someone stupid would make something like that. But you are a stupid boy, aren't you?"

She finished her one liner by dousing my art work with her drink, which I found out was heavy liquor.

Over the years, her cruelty and nastiness kept on increasing if it was ever possible. She kept on insulting me and maltreating me whenever dad wasn't around. And every time I tried to tell on her, her punishments just kept getting worse and worse. Dad couldn't do much to stop her. She had the money in the household, being inherently rich. And she was the one responsible for placing my dad's works in galleries. She had the power and she knew it. The only one capable of fighting against her reign was _me_.

But what can a frail child of eight years old do against a full grown beast of an adult like her? Plenty of things actually; all you need is a creative mind and some pretty solid alibis.

So one fateful day of summer vacation, when I finally had enough of her, my _plan _came to life. I had all the materials I needed right around the household. A nice heavy chair from the dining table, a decent length of rope, handkerchiefs for a blindfold and mouth gag and some paint from dad's stuff for a little bit of fun. All those age inappropriate movies will finally payoff once I get her tied up in my room, giving me a good long break before I have to set her free. If I ever need to, that is.

I executed my plan on the morning of my dad's camping trip. He said that he needed to go on a little retreat to find some inspiration for his new series of paintings but I knew the real reason. He also just wanted some time away from her. She was her usual self that morning: leisurely drunk with a very dirty mouth saying the same vulgar lines, while I was locked up in my room, hoping that she took the bait. And like a moth to a flame, she came knocking on my door, calling me harsh names in her drunken slur. _Perfect_.

She was heavily pounding on my room's door so I took that as my cue. I quickly unlocked the door and that's when things started to go wrong (or maybe right…) She wasn't by the entrance as I expected. Instead, she was somewhere in the middle of the hallway, charging towards my room; probably in an attempt to knock my door down or whatever her drunken mind made her think of. But since I already opened up my door, she just kept on barreling through my room, unable to break her dash, straight towards my room's glass window. She crashed into it and fell out of the house, and my room was on the second floor…

As a kid watching that whole thing play out, the first thoughts that came through my head was 'what have I done?' but now, I'd probably wish for an opportunity to see it again; this time, with a video camera. It was comical to some extent but the thing that really made it epic was that my revenge played out on its own in an even better manner without me doing anything except for opening a door. Talk about a fated encounter.

I came rushing out of my room to check up on her just like a normal kid would do. She was dead, with her limbs making weird angles. Maybe I should have been weirded out or even disgusted by it but I just found it fascinating. I didn't feel any kind of regret after seeing that; even after I kicked her head just for the heck of it. I had some sense of panic but the rewards far outweigh the consequences. My dad and I were finally from her. All I had to do was hide the rope in my room and call 911 and the cops could easily file it as a _tragic incident_.

My little victory daydream was interrupted when I heard a distinct _klank_ sound on the pavement.

By the gate stood a kid who was about the same age as me wearing a completely frightened face. He quickly picked up his bike (the one that made the sound on the pavement) and rode off. The first thing that truly scared me that day was if that kid saw me kick her in the head and starts telling people about it. I quickly relieved my panic by calling the cops as soon as possible. I just placed a thought in my head that no one would believe that kid if he blabbers about that detail. People would just pity me and treat me as the victim, never the suspect. No one would believe him, ever…

Maybe that event really made me demented and bloodthirsty, but maybe I was just like that to begin with. Dad placed me on some therapy because he thought I was in some state of trauma after seeing her die but I clearly wasn't. I just enjoyed my time imagining her bloody form in every ink blot my therapist showed me.

* * *

><p>I finally reached the B-6 area by the looks of the place and I could almost smell that addicting metallic scent of blood. Once I get my stock of gasoline, I'll be an unstoppable killing machine. I just have to watch out for some lucky bastards who got some firearms.<p>

When I approached the store, I saw that the store's lights were on and the door was ajar. So it was either someone had already been here or someone was still inside, just begging to be ambushed. I dropped my bags outside the door since it would just weigh me down and I finally stepped into the store gripping my weed whacker tightly. The first thing that caught my eye was a female classmate of mine facing the other direction. She probably noticed my presence in the room and she quickly turned around, revealing her to be Lauren Garcia, another stupid slut in the class who got herself knocked up and impregnated. The guy probably figured out immediately how stupid she was and left her early; such a good decision on his part.

I dashed towards her, holding the bladed end of my weapon in front of me. She was able to evade my attack for the most part but the circular blade still managed to make a shallow cut on her cheek. I then heard a mechanical pop followed by a sudden surge of pain on my right leg. I looked down and saw a nail impaled through my leg, narrowly missing my Tibia or Femur or whatever bone's suppose to be there. The other thing I saw was Lauren in a crouched position with her bleeding cheek holding the weapon that's responsible for my newest injury, a nail gun.

I swiped my weed whacker again but it missed the little skank by a long shot. I was starting to get a bit unbalanced and unfocused because of the pain in my leg. I wasn't a stranger to pain but this; this was something new and intense. Bee stings feel like a poke compared to having a nail driven through your flesh.

Seeing that she's the one holding the range weapon between us, the only way I thought of to defeat her was to fight her at a close distance. So I lunged towards her with all the force I could muster using my left leg. We landed on the floor with a thud; me on top of her with the pole of my weapon conveniently choking her neck. She was clawing the pole out of her neck to get her circulation back on track but I wasn't yielding one bit.

"Is this all you've got, you fucking whore? Are you gonna leave your poor baby as an orphan now? Must be better for his case don't you think? At least he won't have to put up with hormonal bitches like you." I taunted.

The last parts probably weren't the best things to say at that particular moment because she suddenly struggled and fought back a little stronger than before. And then the unthinkable happens. The fucking bitch kneed me squarely on the balls! I yelped in pain as she managed to get away from my grip.

"Sucks to be a guy right now, doesn't it?" She teased.

The fucking skank started running away, carrying her pesky nail gun. She was still picking up her bags when I used all the strength I had to stand up and fight all the pain that was building up in my head, my leg and my groin. I tackled her once more, effectively knocking her onto a shelf. The contents of the shelf fell on top of us but I didn't give a damn. I started punching her squarely on her stomach, on her leg, her arm; basically whatever part of her that was exposed to my knuckles. Beating her up was such a glorious feeling. It felt like I was releasing all the pain I had to endure not just in the program, but all throughout my entire life.

I only stopped and stood up when she finally lay motionless along the pile of cans and other things that fell out of the shelf. My knuckles were bleeding profusely but I couldn't feel anything except for my extreme thirst to make her suffer more before I finally kill her. I limped across the room to pick up my weed whacker which wasn't that far away from the fallen shelf. I started to search for any kind of gas containers or gas cans so I could fill up my little weapon and start ripping Lauren apart, nice and easy. I luckily found just what I was looking for by the store's counter: two huge, blue plastic containers containing just enough gas to chop off all the motherfuckers and hormonal bitches in our class. I filled the gas tank of my grass cutter to the brim and it whirled to life with a turn of a knob. I tried it out with some littered cardboard boxes I found near the counter and it easily hacked them into bits. The contact it made with the blades produced the most beautiful sound in the world. That strong metallic buzzing sound you get from power tools only the finest of men can yield. It was power, pure badass power at my disposal!

I limped back to where the bitch's body lay in a heap of cluttered cans. She was still knocked out cold so slicing her open wouldn't be that much of a pleasure. I tugged out her hair and shook her head in an effort to wake her up. That way, I can have her screaming in pain as I tear her apart.

"Wake up you little cunt! I have a nice little surprise for you." I coaxed.

Just when I thought that she wouldn't wake up, her eyes began to blink into consciousness. And then she smiled, no wait, more like grinned, which completely caught me off guard.

"What the fuck are you smiling about? Have you completely lost what little of a brain you have?"

"It's just funny that you have a surprise for me when I have my own little _sorpresa_ for you too." She replied and that's when all hell broke loose.

She pulled out her nail gun which was concealed in the rubble and started firing at me. The first one narrowly missed me but the next nail pierced through my left arm. But the biggest bitch of all was the one that impaled itself squarely on my left eye. I howled in pain as I tried to blink but my eyelid kept on colliding with the nail. I felt woozy at the thought of losing my left eye but the adrenaline placed me on overdrive and diverted my focus into getting my revenge.

I swiped my weed whacker directly at her head but she dodged it at the last moment, giving her a new demented haircut. She pulled the nail gun's trigger again and I felt a new stabbing pain in my stomach. The pain was so intense that it temporarily made me forget about the nail in my eye. This one surely hit one of my organs which meant that I wasn't going to last long. I slashed using my weed whacker again but I was losing my strength (not to mention some blood) really fast. She kept on dodging my attacks but her nails kept on finding their mark on me. Some of them just grazed through my skin but some still pierced a bit shallowly through my arms and torso. Two lucky blocks I made using the blade of my grass cutter sent one of the skank's nail right back at her but it only managed to graze her jeans while the other one impaled itself through one of the packages on the shelves of the store.

"This will teach you not to mess with a Latina like me!" She screamed as she lunged at me with full force, pushing me back to the wall of the store.

I flailed around with my weapon but I only managed to knock down more of the store's merchandise, including one of the gas containers the program provided for me. _Shit._

The petroleum started to leak all over the floor making it impossible for me to use it, assuming I manage to kill this bitch and escape this human pincushion nightmare. My split second distraction allowed her to knock my weed whacker off my hands, leaving me completely defenseless.

'_Great. Just fucking great! How are you going to fucking escape now, Ervin? There's no more police to help you out and clean up this mess. And it'd be just too improbable for Kiefer to barge right in and save your sorry ass…_' I mentally scolded myself.

I heard the pneumatic blast of the nail gun again as it fired off another nail right through my right arm, impaling me to the wooden wall of the store.

"That is for attacking me you stupid son of a bitch!" She said with such venom. Another nail went darting through me; this time it landed on my left hand. The bones were probably shattered through the impact and I felt a great deal of pain before a sudden numbness took over my hand, indicating nerve damage. "And that? That was for thinking that my_ hijo _would be better off without me. He's nothing like you! I'm going to win this game and come back to him. And no one, not even a stupid piece of shit like you is going to stop me!"

I spat at her because that's the only thing I could do right now. And even my spit was already telling my death story. It was heavily mixed with blood and that metallic feeling finally lingered in my mouth. She looked pissed with what I did which made me want to chuckle but even thinking of doing that made my whole body hurt. I'm dying and as much as I hate to admit it, I'm at _her _mercy right now…

She was speaking again, something about my hatred for women, but I was only half listening since my consciousness was slowly leaving me. And then I felt another stabbing feeling right on my groin and I coughed off some blood in the process and I just faintly heard her say '_infierno_' as she started to walk away from the limited vision my right eye offered me. But then I heard a little thwack on the floor. Probably her just slipping at the gas leakage… and that's when another idea popped into my head and my right pocket suddenly felt heavier.

It took some effort to retrieve since my right arm already got impaled to the wall but I still managed to get it, my lighter. I flicked it on and I threw it with all the strength I had left. And I saw the flames start to dance in my field of vision. I even heard her scream which made me feel a bit happy. It's like a dying man's wish coming to life. If I was going to hell then she was coming along with me...

I coughed a lot as the smoke started to rise in the store, each one getting bloodier than the previous one. If I wasn't going to die due to blood loss, then either the fire or smoke inhalation will finally do me in…

My vision finally failed me but I can still feel everything. The head wound I got from Fitzhugh early on still throbbed. And all the nails that embedded my body still gave me hell. It only intensified as the heat made the metal much hotter making me scream out loud. But I know that no one could hear me or better yet, save me from this hell. My last thoughts were that of _her; _taunting me again in her drunken slur. But I grew numb from all of those things already. I felt no more pain because I knew that I was finally free…

* * *

><p>AN: So there's Chapter 11.<p>

Rest in Peace, Ervin Gunner. And Lauren, well, we'll have to wait for the morning announcement to find out.

Thank God I finally had the time to write it, edit it and publish it! Sorry for the disappointment folks when it comes to the update and stuff. College has murdered me… Yes you're actually just reading the works of the soul of Percival Jones.

Anyway, I'm introducing two new segments into my chapters now aside from my chapter question. The first one is the character close-up. Basically it highlights the character of the chapter. Why does she act like that? Why is she so bitchy? Stuff like that. The other is the death inspirations whenever a character dies in the chapter. So let's begin with those!

Character Close-Up on Ervin Gunner: I conceptualized Ervin to be a twisted, violent dude but at the same time the smartest of the three bullies in the game. He knows logic and reasoning but his fatal flaw is that he really listens to his emotions more (which is in his case, his anger). The misogynist part is just something I added to his character to make it more distinct plus it's a fun and challenging angle to work on (since I'm a feminist). Now, why did I eliminate him so early in the game? It's because I believe that his violent, explosive nature will only lead to him harming himself all throughout the game. So I wanted him to die early, call it literary euthanasia. XD

Death Inspirations: The first death is for Ervin's mother and that was inspired by the accident a friend of mine experienced back in our first year in high school, with just a few alterations. First of all, my friend didn't die, thank God, but he did get a lot of deep wounds. Second, my friend ran straight through a glass door instead of crashing through a second floor window. And lastly, Ervin's mom was in a drunken state which made the ordeal more deadly while my friend was just rushing to pass his homework on time, that's why he made that 'epic fail' move. XD

Now for Ervin's death, I had two inspirations. One was Death Bell 2, a Korean slasher movie, which featured a nice nail gun death. FD3 could also take some credit for that. The other one was Eminem and Rihanna's "Love the way you lie". The moment I heard the song, I already pictured a fiery death for one of my characters. And Ervin got that double whammy~

So, what do you think my lovely readers? If you love me, show me some love. If you hate me, then still give me a review so I can improve. I write to please both myself and my readers.

QOTC: Should I place my two new chapter segments on my account? Or you should I let it stay in my chapters?

And with that, Percival Jones is out. Peace!


	13. Musketeers

AN: So I want to publish one more chapter before my new semester in college starts so here it goes.

This one's a bit short but I hope you still like it. It totally turned out a bit different than what I expected but life's full of unexpected situations so I'll just work with what I got.

* * *

><p>Chapter 12: Musketeers<p>

**Kenneth Cheng's POV (Boy #4)**

_The whole damn world is just as obsessed with who's the best dressed and who's having sex.  
>Who's got the money<em>_?__ Who gets the honeys? Who's kinda cute and who's just a mess__?_

I found myself humming along to the tune of Bowling for Soup's "High school never ends" as I walked through the forest of this fucked up island. I felt a great sense of nostalgia as I hummed along to that song. Just yesterday, Francis was singing that song on the bus' karaoke while most of the class sang along with him, especially the chorus part. It wasn't that long ago that Sab, the lucky classmate of ours who's on the student exchange program, invited some of the people in our class to her house for a little get together and we ended up singing the same song in an impromptu jam session. It became some sort of an anthem to us as we struggled with the monstrosity known as high school life. But now, we have a new monstrosity to face and we can no longer face it as a group of happy-go-lucky teenagers. The nightmares we got in high school really are nothing compared to the ones we will be having here in the Program.

I took a quick look at my compass again to see if I was heading towards the southeast direction. Back when we were in the classroom, while everyone was distracted by Logan's sudden request, I slipped a piece of paper to Kris and Kiefer telling them to meet up at the southeastern point of the island. To meet up at a generic direction like north or east would be way too simple while staying in the school grounds was out of the question. As much as I want to believe that no one would be sick enough to play this game, Ashley's body at the school exit proved otherwise.

The best option really was to meet up with Kris and Kiefer at a more secure location and well, think of what to do next. Maybe we could find a way to beat this thing. I know that it's been done before in the different Battle Royales conducted in other countries. There's no such thing as a perfect system anyway so maybe we could crack the code in this one. '_Always stay optimistic but logical_', that's what my parents always told me when the situations get tough.

I tried to quicken my pace so I could meet my friends soon. It was a bit hard to do in the forest-y part of the island since there were obstacles everywhere. I could have opted to just take the dirt paths. It would have been easier but it was too risky for my taste. I was the last to leave among us three so they should have probably met by now. Maybe they're even talking about a complex way of beating this game which would involve some serious computer hacking, maybe an economy size can of sticky string and a huge roll of duct tape just like some of the pranks we pulled off in school. Just thinking about those good times made me nostalgic again so I went back to humming a few comforting notes.

_Here we go again_

* * *

><p>I finally reached the J-9 area which was mostly a rocky beach, something you certainly didn't see in Ohio every day. Just a few seconds in and I already heard a distinct whistling sound nearby. It was the same whistling sound the three of us use as a go signal when we do our little prank operations. I followed the sound and found Kris sitting on the shore, half hidden by a rock. He had his shoes and socks beside him and his jeans were soaked as he let his bare feet wade a bit in the seawater.<p>

"Well you took your time to find me. I thought you'd sprint the moment you heard the whistle, screaming 'school spirit!' or something." Kris said as he looked up at me. A playful smile was on his face which didn't fit in with his puffy eyes.

"Your sarcasm is really amazing as always." I said sarcastically.

"And besides, I would never join Tiffany on those school rhyming chants. I'd rather scream 'we're gonna whoop your asses!' at the other team, that would certainly cheer up the crowd." I added which made the both of us chuckle though Kris's sounded a bit forced. I may have heard him laugh but his face still looked like he was attending a funeral; which is sort of what we're experiencing now.

I sat beside him and just gazed at the water scenery. Everything just looked so tranquil that it was really hard to believe that we were in the Program. There was still a faint sound of crickets chirping in the forest and the waves just lapped gently against the shore. It was really too perfect for a disastrous situation like this.

"And this is the perfect time for you to declare your undying love for me Kris." I joked to break the silence.

"In your dreams _Cheng_! I always knew you were a _homo_. No straight guy can last in the cheer squad that long without getting laid." He replied playfully and for a brief moment, I saw the happy Kristian again.

"Actually, I did get laid. Last year, under the bleachers with Zoe Wyatt just right after we won the semi-finals game" I replied informatively. "That's why I wore that ugly scarf my _nainai _knitted for me for a whole week. To hide all the hickeys Zoe made on my neck."

Kris looked at me incredulously, and his face had the whole 'what the fuck?' look written all over it.

"And you just mentioned this to me now?" he inquired.

"I just feel like sharing today. And besides, I have the right to keep my sex life private, you know."

He went quiet again which was really starting to worry me. He wasn't usually like this, but then again, this situation is anything but usual. And then of course, Kiefer was still missing in action. He may be a troublemaker and he really is known for his tardiness but what could seriously take him so long to get here? It was really hard to keep up the optimism when one of your friends is heavily depressed while the other one's nowhere to be found, with a chance of being injured or worse. My train of thought was broken when Kris piped up. It was obvious in his voice that he was fighting the urge to sob.

"Since you're in the mood to share anyway, might as well say a few things." His tone was dead serious which scared the shit out of me.

"I-I well, actually considered drowning myself just a few moments before you arrived." It was my turn to look at him incredulously as he started to cry again.

"I tried to do it Kenneth because I know I'm just going to die anyway so why don't I just do it myself? I could even do it painlessly with the weapon they gave me." He pointed to a little dirty white gun on top of his packs. "I could have just used that tranquilizing gun on myself while I was in deep water and I could drown without feeling the pain. But I just couldn't do it Ken. I-I can't. I'm too much of a coward to do it."

And he broke down and I felt completely useless. I've never seen him this way and I don't have a clue on how to comfort him. Heck, I think I've never seriously comforted anyone in my entire life. And I'm supposed to be the one to cheer the crowd up. I don't know whether I should pat him on the back or hug him or splash him with some seawater. He just looked so broken and fragile that I felt like breaking down myself.

"I just wanted for everything to end, you know? Our classmates, our friends, are all dying one by one. You already saw Ashley's body, right? Well I saw another one. When I was making my way here, I saw one of the twins dead on the forest floor and I just felt grief-stricken and I'm not even close to any of them. I hated that feeling and I just can't imagine feeling that every single time we encounter another one of our classmates' corpse. It's a good thing that Sabrina's out of the country because I know I won't be able to take it if I see her dead. I'd go mad Kenneth." He continued in between sobs.

I was at a loss for words as Kris poured out everything. The news that he attempted to kill himself was already bad itself but another loss in the class was truly tragic. It really was great that Sab wasn't here because that would just make everything worse for Kris. Sab and Kris just started going out at the start of the school year and their time together was cut short because of the exchange student program. But now, their time together might even end permanently…

He was starting to get that hiccup like thing because of his continued sobbing so I grabbed a water bottle from my pack and uncapped it so he could drink. He only took a few sips because we only had a limited amount of drinkable water supplied to us. The water calmed him down and he muttered a small, almost inaudible thank you afterwards.

"No prob. Now do you want to hear what I think?" I waited for a response but since he still looked closed off, I just continued without his approval.

"I think that trying to take away your life is one of the most stupid thing I've ever heard from you." He glared at me but he knew that I'd say something like that sooner or later. "And I'm glad that you didn't continue with it. We can't lose you Kris. We'll find a way out of this mess and I'm pretty sure that you'll be the one to think of the answer. And we'll escape this hell along with everyone else and you'll get to see Sab again. Maybe we'll turn into fugitives in the process but hey, we're already troublemakers to begin with." I finished with a grin. And all of that's true. If anyone could really figure out a way out of this, it'd be Kris and his epic hacking abilities. He could probably mess up the whole program's computers and other monitoring equipment in his sleep.

"Thanks. Even for calling me stupid, I sorta need that." He replied with a smile, a genuine smile.

"No prob. I could call you stupid, or a moron or an idiot all day if I have to." He elbowed me lightly just like before. At least his back to normal; now if only we can find Kiefer…

"Well let's end this little pity party before it turns into one of those sappy dramas that only old ladies watch. We still have to find Kiefer. He still hasn't shown up and I'm _really _worried now." I said as I stood up and brushed away the sand that lingered in my jeans.

"You coming?"

"Actually, he's already been here…" Kris said glumly.

"Wait, seriously? Then where is he? Where did he run off to? When's he returning or do we meet up in another place?" I had a lot of questions running in my mind. If Kiefer actually left Kris in the state he was in then I certainly have a right to punch some sense into him the next time we see each other.

"He's not going back Kenneth. H-he didn't want anything to do with us." He replied. A trace of anger, sadness and betrayal was evident in his voice.

"Huh? Why? You're just joking right? Is this some prank that the two of you are trying to pull on me? Cause it's not cool, dude."

"I wish I was kidding Ken. I tried to stop him and reason things out with him. I even threatened to shoot him with the tranquilizer till he starts seeing sense. But he wouldn't budge. He just passed here to tell us that he'd be playing…" He said and he was near tears again.

"But why would he do that? Its Kiefer were talking about here Kris. He's our friend. NO, he's more than that. We're like brothers, the 3Ks, the Three Musketeers, the well-oiled pranking machine. He can't abandon us just like that Kris." I replied almost in hysterics. Kiefer just couldn't do that. He may be the most arrogant in our bunch and we may have our arguments from time to time but still, he was practically family.

"I'm sorry Kenneth. Maybe I should have tried harder or stalled him till you arrive. He might have listened to you. I just… collapsed and clammed up. I just cou... he said that… he err…"

"**JUST SPIT IT OUT!" **

"He said he didn't trust us." Kris replied fast and he looked frightened. I rarely snap at anyone, especially at him. "He said that he couldn't trust the two of us since we were partners in the Program."

That did me in and I just slumped back to the sand. No wonder Kris broke down like that and now, I just wanted to do the same. A hundred different emotions were surging and fighting inside of me, and optimism wasn't one of them anymore. There was obviously hurt and betrayal for Kiefer to actually think that we would even try to kill him. There was a defined anger towards him and suddenly all the stupid things we fought about before flashed in my mind, fueling my resentment towards him. A part of me also hated Kris for not trying hard enough. If he did his best then Kiefer wouldn't leave us. I know that he wouldn't. Kris just wimped out too soon or maybe he was the one that didn't trust Kiefer in the first place and drove him off. That's logical but that's not like Kris. And I suddenly hated myself for even thinking that. I hated myself for even making that argument look valid. I hated myself because I didn't arrive sooner. Maybe I could have stopped Kiefer from abandoning us. Maybe if I just hurried along the dirt path and didn't play it safe then maybe I would've caught up with him. I feel stupid, broken, useless. I could feel Kris shaking me to get my attention and saying things but I just blocked it out.

I just fucking hate everything right now. I hate the annoying crickets that kept on chirping and the stupid waves in the sea that just looked too peaceful for something like this. I hate this island for even existing just so we could be trapped here and be played around with by the government. I hate the government for even adopting and implementing this stupid system. I hate my parents for enrolling me in Northridge where I met these so called friends of mine that will end up as the ones who'll betray and kill me in the end. I hate God or Buddha or Allah or whatever for even giving me this fucked up existence. I just wanted to burst away into nothingness; away from all these things.

I just kept my eyes closed and begged everything to fucking go away…

* * *

><p>AN: Hopefully Kenneth doesn't hate me for writing that.<p>

A brief shout out to Sadmovie23 for always reviewing. Hopefully the other readers can take some time to review my work, especially those that placed this on alert. I want to hear some feedback and I promise that I'll reply to any questions or comments that you post.

Ooooh and it just occurred to me that i finally reached 40,000+ words for this fic! Awesome~ I just really wanted to post this. It's a milestone moment for me~

Character Close-up on Kenneth Cheng: Kenneth's an interesting individual to write for. He's one of the Mr. Nice Guys in the school whom everyone knows particularly because of him being the school's mascot and a class clown figure. So I wrote him as the typical nice guy with the usual description such as optimistic and happy-go-lucky. But I took a detour out of the positive side and plunged him to the negative side of the spectrum. Into that sad and crooked place filled with rejection, betrayal and hatred. Why did I do that? It's because I firmly believe that those people that look like they're all smiles and happiness are the ones with the darker and more fragile side. They tend to thrive in making people happy because it makes the atmosphere surrounding him happier making the class clown more comfortable and accepted. Once the atmosphere of happiness is gone, you can finally see the inner peelings of the class clown. Maybe he has a family issue that's why he wants to make the school life more enjoyable. Maybe he fears that he'll be alone in life that's why he tries to make connections better. There are so many things that happen to the class clown niche that makes it so interesting. They're just so versatile that they could almost take any form and any role. We will be seeing more of Kenneth Cheng in the future, I hope. And maybe things might turn out much better for him. I probably won't keep him in the dark too long unless you like where things are going for him.

QOTC: So which of the 3Ks do you like most? I know that Kiefer technically didn't appear in the chapter but you knew a bit of his side through Kris.

And with that, Percival Jones is out. Peace!


End file.
